


Life Unexpected

by justanoutlaw



Series: Life Unexpected [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Charming Family Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard Friendship, Exes, F/M, Foster Care, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood, One Night Stands, Parent Prince Charming | David Nolan, Parent Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Past Abuse, Past Teen Pregnancy, Pinocchio | August Booth & Emma Swan Friendship, Protective Parent Prince Charming | David Nolan, Protective Parent Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Sequel, Teen Emma Swan, The Charming Family, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-07-07 10:58:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15906903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: 15 years after the events of Why Did It Have To Be Me? and much has changed. Mary Margaret and David are back living in Storybrooke, but don’t speak to one another. One day, David gets a knock on his door from the daughter they gave up all those years ago. She wants to get emancipated from the foster system, but they can’t let themselves sign the papers. As they split custody and try to help her heal from a lifetime of pain, will they find their way to each other?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the sequel to Why Did It Have To Be Me?
> 
> A few trigger warnings that will take place throughout the story, as they did through the last one: past abuse of several kinds, mentions of past rape and there will be themes of PTSD & depression. Leopold is not a good guy, ever. Snowing is endgame, but right now they're not on the best terms. The Killian here is Wish!Hook and his lovely daughter, Alice. James and Ruth are still alive, Daniel's dead and Regina is with Robin now. Any questions you have for me...let me know.

After 12 years in the foster system, Emma knew the process of when she was being kicked out pretty well.

 

It’d start off with that look, someone in the house would have it. Michelle Harvey got it after Emma had gotten mixed up with a trouble making teen and her husband made it clear that he would never care for Emma as he did his own sons. Ingrid Fischer got it the day she lost her job, therefore making her financials strapped. Her foster sister, Cecilia, had it written on her face after listening to her parents argue about it all night.

 

Then came the hushed voices, followed by extra visits from her social worker. The final straw was when Emma would find her things piled up in the living room or by the door, ready for her to move onto her next home.

 

Emma noticed that her current foster father, Ed Diabolos, was starting to get the look. He wasn’t even what she would consider a decent foster dad. He took advantage of her, but after years of abuse, she wouldn’t take it anymore. She could tell that she wasn’t worth the struggle of a check anymore. She knew that within a few days, she’d be sent to foster home number 10.

 

She didn’t want to be sent to another foster home, she had her fill throughout her lifetime. 10 foster homes in 12 years had put a mark on her record and she knew that she’d never be adopted. Her social worker had stopped giving her hope about that when she was 12.. She encouraged Emma to find her own happy ending, to work hard and get good grades.

 

_“One day, you’ll have a family, Emma. Maybe it’ll come from the system, maybe you’ll have to find it on your own. For now, let’s focus on giving you the best future possible.”_

 

Emma loved Astrid, but sometimes she had her head in the clouds a bit too much.

 

If she was never going to find a forever family, then what was the point in staying in the system another 3 years? It was her 15th birthday, which meant she could get a job and find a place to live. She just needed to get emancipated, but she needed some help getting there. So, she decided to meet with a lawyer.

 

Kathryn Oralie rarely took pro-bono cases, she didn’t find them worthy. When Emma’s file came on her desk, however, something clicked and she knew she had to accept her request.

 

“So, Emma,” she said, as they settled down in her office. “According to your e-mail, you want to be emancipated.”

“Yes.”

“You do realize that if we found a judge to approve this, you’d need to be able to live on your own.”

“That’s kind of the point.”

Kathryn gave her a patient smile. “What I mean is, you need to prove it to the courts that you can provide for yourself. You’d have to get a place to live, get a job and either continue your education or prove that you’re actively pursuing getting your GED.”

“I have a few grand saved up,” Emma told her, pulling crumpled bank statements from her tattered backpack. “I’ve worked odd jobs over the years and I had one home that gave me the checks they received. I saw that I could apply for a work permit since I’m 15 now.”

“15, I thought your file said 14?”

“Today’s my birthday.”

Kathryn’s smile grew. “Well, happy birthday, Emma.” She looked over the statements and the other information that Emma had provided. “Oh…I see a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Emma, legally you were never adopted.”

“What do you mean? I had a family when I was a baby and they gave me back.”

“Yes, well, it seems that the adoption never went through. They were fostering you and there was a lot of red tape, however you were given back before they could make it final.”

“How did I end up with their last name, then?”

“Well, it was the only one you knew.”

“So, if I was never adopted, then I’m a ward of the state.”

“In the technical sense, yes. However, your biological parents’ rights were never terminated. They would’ve been when the adoption was processed, but since the Swans dropped the case…”

“They’re still my parents,” Emma whispered.

Kathryn nodded. “They’d have to sign off on this and honestly, you’re going to need someone to co-sign a lease for you. No landlord is going to rent to a teenager by themselves.”

“So…you’re saying I have to find my biological parents.”

“Birth certificates are public record. Let me do some digging.”

 

Emma leaned back in her seat and watched Kathryn type some things in on her laptop. After a few moments, her face went pale.

 

“What? What is it?”

Kathryn cleared her throat. “Nothing, um....nothing.”

“Kathryn.”

“I just…I happen to know your biological parents.”

“Really?”

“We all went to high school together. Last I heard, they moved back to our hometown after college.”

“Yet you stayed in Boston.”

“I went to school in California, actually. This is where I got a job.”

“What are they like?”

“I…I didn’t know them all that well.”

 

Emma definitely didn’t believe that, but didn’t say anything further. After another few taps on her computer, Kathryn printed something out and handed it to Emma.

 

“This is your biological father’s information. He lives in Storybrooke, Maine.”

“Storybrooke? Seriously?”

“It’s weird, I know.”

 

Emma looked down at the paper, tracing her fingers over it.

 

David Nolan.

 

Her father’s name was David Nolan.

* * *

 

It wasn’t hard for Emma to convince her best friend to take her to Maine. Emma and August had met in her first foster home after the Swans had given her up. She was distraught and traumatized, her foster family hadn’t wanted much to do with her. August understood her, though. He had entered the system a year prior, after his elderly single father passed away. Though they were only temporarily in the same home, they ended up crossing paths again a few years later when she was 7 and August was 10. A friendship was struck and no matter where they were in life, they always found a way to meet up and talk.

 

August had aged out the system earlier that year and he got a job working at a mechanic shop. Emma would often crash at his apartment whenever she needed to escape from Ed.

 

“Consider it my birthday gift,” she told him.

August shook his head. “The things I do for you, kid.”

 

When Emma went back to Ed’s house to retrieve her things, she found that they were already put by the door. She knew it was coming, yet also couldn’t believe that he was kicking her out on her birthday.

 

“Bastard,” she mumbled under her breath, pulling her duffel over her shoulder and tucking her blanket inside of it.

 

She didn’t even bother telling Astrid where she was going. August picked her up in front of Ed’s on his motorcycle a half hour after their talk and he tossed her a helmet.

 

“Next stop, Storybrooke, Maine.”

* * *

 

David dropped down onto the couch, running his hands through his hair. Another long, long day and he’d have to do it all again tomorrow. What the hell was he thinking going into family law? Of all the professions he could’ve gone with, he had to go with the one that left him playing God sometimes. He took the cases he felt were right and turned down the ones that might have been easy, but he knew weren’t the best case of the children. It only pissed off his uncle, but he honestly didn’t care.

 

If a parent wanted their child and was competent, they deserved to be a parent.

 

“Rough day?”

 

He looked up and found his best friend and roommate, Killian Rogers, standing there holding out a beer. David nodded, accepting the drink from him.

 

“You can say that.” He cracked it open and took a swig. “Yours?”

“Just your average day in being a cop in a small town. Actually was able to give out a traffic ticket.”

David snorted. “Is Alice coming by tonight?”

“No, she’s got a date.”

“And you’re not going psycho on the girl?”

“She’s growing up, I have to let go.”

“Which means you already pulled up a file on her.”

“You know me so well.”

 

David chuckled and took another sip of his beer. When he moved back to Storybrooke due to getting a job with his uncle, he had been short on a place to live. His mother had gotten remarried and he didn’t want to intrude on them, so he found a listing from Killian. A single father with a then 12-year-old daughter who needed help with rent. David had applied and soon, a friendship struck. They eventually ended up getting a house together, once Killian made detective. David found himself acting as a godfather figure to Alice. She was a bright, funny girl who was now taking art classes at Storybrooke College.

 

Killian flipped on the T.V and the local news instantly popped up. David frowned when he saw the reporter on duty that night. Didn’t she normally handle the morning news?

 

“Good evening Storybrooke, I’m Mary Margaret Blanchard and I’ll be filling in for Ursula Caspian this evening.”

David bit his lip. “Do we have to watch this?”

“What do you have against the hot anchor woman?” Killian asked as he dropped down next to him.

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

“What? Do you know her?”

“It’s…complicated.”

 

There was a knock at the door and David took that as the opportunity to get up and answer. On the other side was a petite blonde teenager. She was wearing a red flannel shirt and some beat up jeans, a grey beanie on her head. Slung over her shoulder was a backpack that had definitely seen better days. She looked at him in awe for a moment.

  
“Can I help you?” He asked.

“Hi.”

“Hi?”

She blinked a few times. “I’m looking for David Nolan.”

“That’s me.”

“Oh…I um…”

“Are you one of my client’s kids? Because I don’t do house calls.”

“No, I’m…comprised of half your gene pool.”

“What?”

“I’m your daughter.”

 

David felt himself about to slip, so he gripped onto the doorframe.

 

“What?” He whispered.

“Your daughter.”

 

This had to be a joke, some sick joke. He was told that the adoption would be closed, that she would have no way of getting in contact with him. It hadn’t been what he wanted, but it was apparently what her adoptive parents did.

 

“My name is Emma,” she added.

 

Emma.

 

That had been the name that was on the paperwork. Emma Ruth. A part of him still couldn’t believe that Mary Margaret had wanted to name her after his mother.

 

He took her in further, her eyes looked just like Mary Margaret’s. Her hair was thick and curly like hers had been before she chopped it off, only with his coloring. Even the way she was smiling, it was one he had seen on himself and James time and time before.

 

Holy shit, this was his daughter.

 

“I…I can’t believe this,” he whispered.

“This was the address the lawyer gave me.”

“You went to a lawyer to find me?”

“No, I went to a lawyer to get emancipated and she told me that I had to get your signature, so…”

“Wait…emancipated?” He shook his head. This was a lot of information to get at once. “Come in.”

 

He lead her inside and shut the door behind him. Killian looked up from the T.V, tilting his head.

 

“Dave, who’s this?”

“It’s uh…”

“I’m his kid.”

Killian’s eyes widened. “This is…her?”

David nodded. “Yeah.” He turned back to Emma. “So, you want to get emancipated from your adoptive parents?”

“No, from the system.”

“The system?”

“The foster system. Geez, when I looked into you it said you were a lawyer, but maybe you’re not the brightest…”

 

David ignored the jab, trying to wrack his brain. This made no sense, maybe this wasn’t his daughter after all.

 

“I’m sorry, but the daughter I gave up for adoption, was adopted. She didn’t go into the foster system.”

Emma sighed. “It’s a really long story, but whoever you and your baby mama picked, ended up giving me back when I was three. The adoption was never legally finalized, which means that you still have your rights.” She reached into her backpack, pulling out a form. “I need you and whoever the mother is to sign this, so I can get emancipated.”

 

He frowned, taking the paper from her. How was this possible? Who just gives a kid back after 3 years? How had his baby…who wasn’t quite a baby anymore…spent 12 years in the foster system?

 

“I didn’t get her name either,” Emma continued. “The lawyer looked into my background and just gave me your name. She has to sign this too. Any idea of where I can find her?”

 

David’s eyes drifted to the T.V, which had Mary Margaret doing a report on the upcoming Miner’s Day Festival. Emma and Killian followed his glance, and a small smile went on Emma’s face.

 

“Her?” She whispered. “She used to do the news in Boston…I…I watched her every day.”

“No wonder why you never want to watch it,” Killian mumbled.

David cleared his throat, shaking his head. “Look, I need to um…I need to talk to Mary Margaret about all of this before I sign.”

“Any idea of when that can be?”

“Tomorrow. She’s working tonight.”

“Obviously. Look, my friend and I got a room at the inn, near that diner. Had a name for a family member, I think.”

“Granny’s.” Oh God, she was staying with Granny.

“Right, Granny’s. Do you need a ride there? Or you could stay here?”

Emma smiled. “It’s alright. My friend’s waiting for me outside. I better get going.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow, around 11. She usually covers the morning news and that gets done around 10.”

“Sounds good to me. Bye David.”

“Bye.”

 

She walked out the door and David stared at the piece of paper in his hands.

 

What the hell was he going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

David let out a small yawn as he stood in line at Granny’s the next morning. He had barely gotten any sleep after Emma left. Killian tried grilling him for details, but he didn’t feel much like talking about it. Killian was one of the few people who knew about Emma to begin with. He normally didn’t tell anyone, not even his mother or brother knew. After he started living with he Rogers’ however, he found himself wondering about Emma. She would’ve been 8 years old at the time and he wished he could be with her, wherever she was. He ended up getting drunk after Killian took Alice to a father/daughter dance and spilled his guts to him. He promised to keep it a secret, even from Alice.

 

God, what was his mother going to say?

 

Shaking that thought from his mind, he took a step up to the counter where take out orders were put in. Ruby flashed him a smile, which only added to his guilt. She was always so nice to him, for someone that was on Mary Margaret’s side. She always said that they had been friends in high school and even if she didn’t agree with him, they could still be friends as well.

 

“Hey David, the usual?”

“Um, yeah but one extra sandwich and…” He looked up at the board, trying to think of what drink to order Emma. Coffee was out, kids didn’t drink coffee, right? He decided to go with what he liked back in high school. “One hot chocolate with cinnamon.”

Ruby punched it into the register. “Got a hot date?”

“Uh, no. Just bringing something by to Alice before class,” he fibbed.

“Alrighty. Granny will have it out in a minute.”

“She’s still working?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Try getting her to stop, I’ve given up.”

 

David chuckled a bit and stepped to the side to let the next customer through. Granny’s had always been the hangout spot in high school. He spent many a Friday night after the game in a back booth with Kathryn and their friends, enjoying burgers and fries. He had even worked at Granny’s on the weekends and some weekday afternoons when he didn’t have practice. Outside Ruby, he was probably the only kid that worked but it was nice to have extra money so he didn’t have to rely on his mom for everything.

 

The food and drinks were ready quickly and David headed to the inn that was near the diner. Emma had texted him the room number, so he went right up and knocked on the door. A tall teenage boy answered, with a mess of curly brown hair.

 

“Um…maybe I don’t have the right room.”

“Are you looking for Emma?”

“Yes.”

“Then you do. August Booth, her best friend.” He led David inside. “Emma’s just finishing up getting ready. She overslept, as usual.”

David slowly set down the food. “So…you’re the friend that came with Emma.”

“Yes.”

“And how old are you?”

“18, sir.”

“Are you two…”

August let out a loud laugh. “No, Emma and I are just friends.”

“Right.” David folded his arms over his chest. “I just find it odd that an 18 year old would want anything to do with a 15 year old.”

 

August stared at him for a moment, before looking back at the bathroom. His eyes settled back on David, no longer as playful as they were before.

 

“You know how Emma and I met?” David shook his head. “She was 3 and the family that had been taking care of her had just put her back into the system. It was pretty traumatic for her. She wouldn’t stop crying, asking for her mommy and daddy. I was only 6, but had been at her new foster home for a while. The parents weren’t the most sympathetic and I knew she’d get in trouble. So the first night when she was crying her head off, I went in her room and comforted her. I snuck her some cookies and gave her my teddy bear to cuddle. I told her that everything was going to be okay.”

 

David’s arms slowly started lowering and he felt the heat come to his cheeks. August either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because he kept on going.

 

“Emma didn’t last very long there and I eventually was put into a new home, they thought they might want to adopt me. That didn’t work out well. A few years later, we got put in the same home again and this time, we bonded. We looked out for each other and it stayed that way. We stayed in touch when we could, begged to be put in the same homes at other times. I’ve always kept an eye on her. She’s like my baby sister.” August grabbed a mug and took a sip from it. “That’s what an 18 year old is doing with your kid.”

David bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I know I probably have no right to act like a protective…well, anything.”

August shrugged. “It happens. I’m not gonna judge you. From the looks of it, you couldn’t have been that old when she was born.”

“18.”

“Yeah, if I had a kid right now, not sure what I would do. Also why I use protection, though.”

 

David couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe this kid wasn’t so bad after all.

 

“You brought Emma up here?”

August nodded. “After she met with a lawyer, she asked me. I figured I could use the road trip.” He lowered his voice. “You’re not signing the papers are you?”

David looked towards the door he assumed Emma was behind. “I can’t,” he whispered. “She’s 15. She can’t take care of herself. I just…I’m bringing her to Mary Margaret to give her a chance to decide if she wants to help.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Emma can’t be on her own right now. I’d take her in if the state would let me, but let’s face it, I’m fresh out of the system and I live with three other guys. She’s going to be better off with you two.”

“Even though we gave her up?”

“Like I said, you had your reasons. I was adopted too, you know? Before I went in the system.”

“Really?”

August nodded. “I don’t remember too much about my dad, he died when I was 6. But he had always told me about my biological parents. My dad was my biological father’s mentor. He got this girl pregnant in college and they just dropped me off on Marco’s doorstep one night. Never came back for me after he died…at least you’re there for Emma.”

“I’m sure your bio parents had their reasons.”

“Maybe, but I’ll never know.”

 

The bathroom door opened and Emma walked out, wearing similar clothes to what she had been in the day before. She smiled when she saw David.

 

“You came.”

“I told you I would.” He held up the sandwich wrapped in foil and the cup of hot chocolate. “I brought you breakfast, wasn’t sure if you’d eaten.”

“I’m starving.” She accepted the two from him and sipped the cup. “Hot chocolate?”

“You’re not old enough for coffee.”

Emma rolled her eyes, but the smile stayed on her face. “So, we gonna go see Mary Margaret or what?”

“Let’s go.”

“I’ll be back later, Auggie.”

August nodded and kissed the top of her head. “Be good.”

“Always am,”

 

Emma grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, following David out to his truck. She got in the passenger seat as he slid into his.

 

“Seatbelt,” he told her.

Emma rolled her eyes and pulled it on. “Loser.”

“Sorry, I don’t want you to die.”

“Uh huh.” Emma kept studying him as he drove down Main Street. “So, you’re a lawyer?”

“Yup. I’m a partner at my uncle’s firm. I’m mostly in family law.”

“Family for the guy with no family.”

David cleared his throat. “I have a family.”

“Are you and that Killian guy together?”

“Oh, no. We’ve just been living together for years. I’m single. I just meant, I have a mom and a brother. My mom got married not too long ago. To a woman, actually.”

“So, David has two mommies.”

He snorted. “I guess.”

“What happened to your dad?”

“He died when I was young.”

Emma frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago and honestly, I never felt like I missed out on anything.”

“Lucky you.”

 

David tried to think of the right thing to say, but he came up blank. Emma didn’t seem to want to talk about it anymore, so she flicked on the radio and the smile returned to her face when ACDC’s Highway To Hell began to play. David grinned himself, she clearly had a good taste in music.

* * *

 

Mary Margaret threw her purse over her shoulder as she started to head out of the studio. She had been nervous about returning to Storybrooke after spending so many years WHDH News, but she really loved being in a small town station more. There was so much room for growth and she found herself really loving the staff. Sure, she didn’t get to report on things that exciting, but she found her own way.

 

As she walked out, she caught a poster of Herc Akin and let out a tiny sigh. They had gotten into relationship once she got back to Storybrooke and for a while, it seemed like a match made in heaven. He did sports, she was co-anchor of the morning news. Then he proposed and she realized that she didn’t love him. He switched to doing primetime sports and they had barely spoken since.

 

She shook it off and walked out to the parking lot. She wanted to take a nap before her dinner with Regina’s family that night. As much as things had changed for her, they had seemed to doubly change for Regina. After Daniel died, Regina had sprung into action. She finished up her degree and got a job for a pretty big corporation in Storybrooke. A few years later, she fell in love and got remarried, adopting Robin’s kids while he adopted Henry. They still accepted Mary Margaret as part of their family and she was grateful to have them.

 

When she turned the corner to her car, she saw David. Her stomach flip flopped and firm line formed of her face. She hadn’t spoken to David after she had texted him that Emma was born, that was until she moved back to town. He grilled her as to why she hadn’t told him when their daughter was born and she snapped. Why did he care? He was the one that told her to give her up in the first place? Besides, it didn’t matter. By that point, Emma would be 12 years old, she had a new family. Ever since then, if they saw one another in public, they walked the other way.

 

She was going to do just that when he called out to her. She turned on her heel and stormed over to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“And so you have to come to my work? My god, you haven’t changed a bit…except maybe your hairline.”

David rolled his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“What is so important that you’d have to come out here?”

He stepped away from the door and gestured to a blonde teenager that was standing there. “Meet Emma, our daughter.”

 

Mary Margaret’s eyes widened as she looked over at her. This couldn’t be possible, it just couldn’t. She had been told over and over again that the Swans didn’t want Emma having anything to do with her. The way they worded it, there was no way Emma would ever even know that she was adopted. Yet, there she was. She looked so much like the two of them.

 

Emma was staring at her, but shook it up and smiled a little. “Hi,” she whispered.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Mary Margaret breathed. “How did you find me? I mean…I’m glad you did, it’s just the last time I saw you…you were so tiny.” She thought of the baby that didn’t look big enough to be alive in the NICU. “Now, you’re so…you’re so…” She blinked the tears that came to her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good, I’m good. I’m not…tiny,” Emma replied with a laugh.

Mary Margaret chuckled. “You have blonde hair.” Just like David, she wanted to add, but couldn’t. She was seriously a perfect blend of them both.

“Em,” David said, nudging her a bit. “You wanna tell Mary Margaret why we’re here?”

“Oh, right.” Emma dug through her backpack and pulled out the forms she had shown David the night before. “I need your signature. I can’t get emancipated without it.”

“Emancipated?” Mary Margaret had to let herself adjust. “From…your parents? The Swans?”

“The foster system, she was never adopted,” David cut in.

Mary Margaret tilted her head. “What…that’s not possible. You had a family, they told me…you had a family.”

“It’s a long story,” Emma said. “I went with the Swans for a few years but then they got pregnant and John lost his job. There was only enough for one kid and well, the one who didn’t share their DNA got the boot.”

 

Mary Margaret couldn’t believe this. How could this be happening? The Swans were good people, would they really get rid of one kid just because they fell on hard times?  


“So, you’ve been in the system this whole time,” Mary Margaret whispered.

“Just since I was three.”

“Still…I would’ve thought…”

“That I’d be adopted?”

“It was what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to get you a family.”

“There’s a lot of things they’re supposed to do. Look, I just can’t take it anymore. However, a lawyer told me that if I got you two to sign off on it, I could be free. I guess you two are still legally my parents.”

 

Mary Margaret looked over at David, who had this look in his eyes. It was almost as if he knew what she was feeling. Emma was only 15, her birthday had been the day before. She couldn’t be on her own, she was far too young.

 

“I…I can’t,” she whispered.

Emma took a small step back. “What?”

“Emma, you’re 15. How are you going to take care of yourself?”

“I have savings and I’ll get a work permit…please. I cannot go back into the system. Do you know what it’s like? Drunk foster moms and pervy foster fathers. And even if you manage to get a good family, something will go wrong and you end up in a shit one.”

Mary Margaret flinched, not wanting to imagine her daughter going through all that. “I won’t let you end up in another bad home. If we’re still legally your parents, then I can take you.”

“What about me?” David stepped forward. “I could take her too.”

 

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow and looked over at him again.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d want that.”

“I’m the one that’s been helping her.”

“Right, you were so much help when you told me to put her up for adoption.”

“What did you want me to do? Propose? Marry you? The last time I saw you, you didn’t want a kid either!”

“I didn’t want a lot of things! I didn’t want to have feelings for some meathead quarterback!”

David’s eyes widened. “What meathead quarterback?”

“No.”

“Because you said we were nothing more than a one night stand.”

“We weren’t.”

“Yeah, then why are you upset?”

“Because you upset me, David!”

“Oh my God, get over it!” Emma exclaimed, causing both of them to look over at her. “So, he let you down. Like you haven’t let anyone down before.”

Mary Margaret bit her lip. “Emma…”

“Did you even consider keeping me? Either of you?”

“I did,” she whispered. “I…I was going to. Even after we agreed to place you for adoption.”

“What?” Emma and David asked at the same time.”

“I was going to keep you,” Mary Margaret looked at Emma and Emma alone. “I had a plan. I’d get a job and a place to live, it’d be us against the world.”

“What happened?” Emma asked, wonder in her eyes.

“You were born early, I was barely 6 months along. I didn’t have anything for us yet and I knew I wouldn’t by the time you were out, so I had to give you, your best chance.”

 

Emma stared at her for a moment, not saying anything. Mary Margaret felt like she was going to cry. She could remember the day she was released from the hospital, going back to her dorm. She had to go to class the next day and act like nothing had happened. Like she didn’t have a baby in the NICU waiting on a family. She had gone to visit her a few more times until they told her that they had found Brenda and John Swan. They had made it clear that Mary Margaret was no longer welcome.

 

“Which is what I have to do now,” Mary Margaret continued. “I’m going to file for custody of you.”

“We’re filing for joint custody,” David said.

Mary Margaret shut her eyes. She wanted to argue with him, but knew that she couldn’t. He had every right to Emma, just as much as she did. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I…I don’t want this,” Emma said. “I don’t want parents, I want to be emancipated.”

“That’s not what’s right for you, Emma,” David told her.

“And how would you know? Because you bought me breakfast one time?”

Pain filled David’s eyes and Mary Margaret wished she didn’t, but she felt for him. “Just let us be there for you.”

“Maybe we won’t be your parents right away, but we want to be,” Mary Margaret added.

“No.” Emma shook her head. “No. I’m going back to Boston.”

 

She started walking away and Mary Margaret went to go after her.

 

“Emma!”

“Just let me go! You did it once! It shouldn’t be that hard to do it again!”

 

With that, Emma stormed out of the parking lot and was soon out of their line of vison. Mary Margaret shut her eyes, tilting her head back.

* * *

 

Mary Margaret knew she should’ve let David go, but somehow found herself inviting him to have a drink at her loft. God knew they both needed it. She poured David out some scotch and they sat down at the counter, staring at their glasses.

 

“What are we going to do?”

“Call her social worker, tell her what we want,” David said. “We’ll have to get our places checked out before we can take her in, but they’ll both probably pass.”

“How do you know this?”

“Lawyer.”

“Right.” Mary Margaret sipped her drink. “God, this was the last thing I was expecting when I woke up today.”

“How do you think I felt last night?” He was quiet for a minute. “Were you really going to keep her?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “I only went to Columbia so no one else would know.”

“Were you ever gonna tell me?”

She let out a deep breath through her nose. “One day…maybe?” She looked up at him. “If I lied would that make you feel better?”

David shook his head. “I deserved it. I’m sorry.”

“David…”

“No, I really am. Look, I was wrong to tell you to give her up.”

“Maybe it was her best chance. We were only 18, what could we give her?”

“More than the system would’ve.”

“True.” She took another gulp of her drink, cringing at how it burned her throat.

David let out a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. “How did we end up in this situation anyway?”

“You and Kathryn had that big argument. None of your so called friends were being supportive, so we agreed to talk.” Mary Margaret laughed in spite of herself. “I told you it was too loud, so we went into the guest room and the more we talked…the closer we got on that bed and ya know…”

“Emma was created,” David mused, a soft smile on his face.

“She has your smile.”

“She has your eyes. I always really liked your eyes.”

 

David leaned over, putting a hand on her cheek. She looked at him, her breath catching. Soon, his lips were connected to hers and her tongue was halfway to his throat. They were kissing and she wasn’t even sure how it had happened. Quickly pulling away, she smoothed down her shirt.

 

“We have to go get her,” she said.

David nodded, clearing his throat. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Has she been staying with you?”

“No, an old foster brother gave her a ride into town, they’re staying at Granny’s.”

“Then I guess we’re going to Granny’s.”


	3. Chapter 3

Emma threw the clothes she had unpacked back into her bags, with August watching her from afar. As she grabbed her baby blanket, she looked up at him and blew a strand of curls out of her face.

  
“Are you going to pack or what?”

“I think you’re being dramatic,” he said.

“They want me to stay here with him. That’s the opposite of getting emancipated.”

“And maybe that’d be for the best.”

“What?”

“Emma,” August sat down on her bed, crossing his legs. “You’ve wanted a family for most of your life, you tried so hard to get one…”

“When I was like 7, August. I’m 15 now, I don’t need a family. I have you, I have myself. That’s all I need.”

“What if you could have more than that?”

“I don’t want more! Now, either pack or I’ll do it for you.”

 

August sighed and got up off the bed, heading over to the drawers. There was a knock on the door and he walked over, opening it. Emma didn’t bother looking up as she tried to find her headphones, she couldn’t leave those behind.

 

“Em, someone’s here to see you,” August said.

 

Emma looked up and found Mary Margaret and David standing there. She scoffed and went back to searching.

 

“If you’ve come here to beg, the answer’s still going to be no.”

“Emma, please just hear us out.” Mary Margaret walked closer to her. “I’m sorry you had to hear us arguing. We just…we have a past.”

“I don’t care about that. You two don’t have to get along.”

‘We want to. For you.”

“Look, I’m going back to Boston…”

“But you don’t have to and we…we don’t want you.” Mary Margaret put a hand on her arm, causing Emma to meet her gaze. “Please, just stay here with us. We both have spare rooms and we’ll figure out custody, we want to make this work.”

“Why? You gave me up, why is this so important to you now?”

David stepped forward. “We had nothing to offer you 15 years ago, Em,” he said, the nickname just slipping off his tongue without meaning to. “Now, we do. Maybe it’s not the family you always dreamed of, but we want to make this work. We want you to have parents, even if you don’t think of us that way for now.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a guaranteed bed to sleep in?” Mary Margaret added. “To  have guaranteed food and not have to worry about being an adult before you have to?”

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time,” Emma argued.

“And we’re sorry about that.” David frowned. “You don’t have to anymore, though.” He watched Emma fold her arms over her chest and sighed. “Look, we could easily go around you and get custody. I don’t want to do that, though. I want you, to want this.”

“Good luck with that.”

 

Mary Margaret tilted her head as she saw something poking out of Emma’s duffel bag. She gently took out the white wool and felt the tears burn her eyes, running her fingers over her name. She brought it up to her face and sniffed it, bringing her back to the NICU.

 

The image was taken away when Emma snatched it away from her. “That’s mine.”

“I…I know. I made it for you.”

Emma paused. “What? I thought…I thought the Swans did.”

Mary Margaret shook her head. “No. I made it for you, when I was pregnant. As soon as I found out you were a girl, I knew I wanted to name you Emma. It means whole, universal. You were what made me feel whole, after a lifetime of pain.”

 

Emma bit her lip, looking from the blanket, back up at Mary Margaret.

 

“But…you left me at the hospital.”

“I gave it to the nurse. I told her to give it to your adoptive family and I wasn’t sure if they’d actually give it to you, but I’m so glad they did.”

“It’s the only really good thing I have left from my childhood,” Emma whispered.

The thought alone was a pain to Mary Margaret’s heart. “I’m sorry.”

 

Emma was quiet for a minute, her eyes going down to the blanket. It had been the one thing to make her feel safe over the years. She’d get toys in some homes, but then have to give them up when she was moved. They were never truly hers and that was made clear. The blanket, though, it was hers and hers alone. No one else could lay claim to it and somehow, it never got in bad shape throughout the years. It didn’t matter how many foster siblings teased her or mocked her for having it, the blanket was her one sense of stability.

 

Mary Margaret had given it to her, even if she wasn’t with her.

 

She swallowed and put the blanket back in her duffel. “I guess…I guess we could give it a trial period,” she whispered. Mary Margaret and David’s eyes lit up. “If you can convince social services that is.”

 

A part of her hated how much she wanted them to be able to.

* * *

 

As it turned out, it wasn’t as hard as any of them expected. Since Mary Margaret and David’s rights were never taken away, they were still considered her parents. Astrid was more than happy to make them Emma’s legal guardian and managed to get them temporary joint custody, until they could legally adopt her. They weren’t sure if Emma would want that, but they both did with everything in them.

 

They decided that Emma would start off at Mary Margaret’s. David and Killian had a spare room from when Alice lived with them, but they had been using it for storage ever since she got her own apartment for college, so it had to be cleared out. So, the day after they got custody, Mary Margaret lead Emma into her loft. She had started renting it when she moved back to Storybrooke and she absolutely loved it.

 

Emma looked around, the walls were brick and it had a pretty open layout. The only thing that seemed to be closed off was the bathroom. There was a staircase that lead up to the loft area, which had no walls. There were pictures all over of Mary Margaret and a woman that looked to be just a few years older than her, along with that woman and a man with scruff and some children. They didn’t look anything alike, so Emma wondered if maybe they were just very good friends.

  
“So, there’s the kitchen,” Mary Margaret explained, gesturing to it. “Feel free to help yourself to whatever you want and let me know your favorite foods so I can add them to my shopping list. The bathroom’s attached to it, tub and shower. There’s the living room.” She lead Emma past the stairs and pointed to a wire frame bed, with a white comforter. “And that’s my bedroom. Let me show you yours.”

 

Emma adjusted the duffel over her shoulder and lead Emma up to the second bedroom. There was a bed resembling Mary Margaret’s, with another in the corner. Both had very plain bedding and throw pillows, with some bookcases against the walls as well.

 

“You can decorate it how you see fit,” Mary Margaret said as Emma threw her bags down on one of the beds. “The only people that really use this bedroom are Regina’s kids when they spend the night.”

“Regina?”

“She’s, well…” Mary Margaret trailed off with a little laugh. “She’s my ex-step-mother.”

“And you’re still close with her?”

“It’s a really long story. She’s not much older than me and after she left my father, she ended up building a family of her own. I’ve always been apart of it. Her younger son, Henry’s, only a bit older than you, 17. And then there’s Roland, he’s 23 and lives in New York. Margot is 19 and she attends the local college. We’ll probably have dinner with them soon, if that’s okay. They can’t wait to meet you.”

“Sure.” It was all Emma could say. She wasn’t used to having a family and suddenly there were these people that knew of her, that she didn’t even know. “Do you um…do you have parents? I mean, you said Regina was your step-mom. What happened to your real one?”

 

Pain filled Mary Margaret’s eyes and for a moment, Emma regretted asking, but her mother just shook it off.

 

“She died when I was young. My father and I…we don’t speak anymore.”

“Why?”

“Another long story. Why don’t I leave you to unpack and I’ll make us something to eat?”

 

Emma wanted to press further, but stopped herself. She had a past too, and she wasn’t sure if she was quite ready to share it with Mary Margaret either.

 

“Alright.”

“Do you like grilled cheese?”

Emma softly smiled. “It’s my favorite.”

Mary Margaret grinned. “Good to know.”

 

She headed downstairs, going into the kitchen. She was putting together the bread and cheese when the door opened. She jumped and then let out a breath of relief when she saw it was just Regina.

 

“You scared me.”

“Sorry.” She shrugged off her jacket. “You gave me a key.”

“For emergencies only.”

“I wanna see her. Is that not an emergency?”

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. “She just got here, I was hoping she could get settled and then we could all have dinner.”

“We will, but I’m your best friend. Can I not see her first?”

Mary Margaret chuckled. “Why don’t you join us for lunch. Grilled cheese?”

“That doesn’t sound like your diet.”

“It’s Emma’s favorite.”

“Well look at you, already playing mother of the year,” Regina teased.

 

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes again and grabbed some more slices of bread. Regina started helping her, glancing towards the staircase before looking back at her.

 

“So…how’s David?” She asked, her voice lowering.

Mary Margaret shrugged, chewing her lip. “We’ve agreed to be civil, for Emma’s sake.”

“How do you feel about doing that?”

“I’m willing to do what I have to, for my daughter.”

“I feel like this is all my fault.”

“What?”

“I know you heard me and Daniel that night.” Regina frowned. “I’m no idiot. If we had been more supportive…”

“Regina.” Mary Margaret put a hand on her arm. “Stop. I made my own choices. You and Daniel were young, with one child to support, you didn’t need two more mouths to feed. Besides, I was going to keep her.”

“You were? But you said…”

“I didn’t want David to know. I didn’t think he deserved to. Then she was born early and well, I didn’t have anything ready. I did what I had to.”

“Oh Mare…”

“It’s fine.” Mary Margaret let out a deep breath. “There’s nothing that can be done. She’s here now, huh?”

 

There were footsteps down the stairs and Mary Margaret straightened up, making sure she didn’t start crying again.

 

“You done unpacking already?”

“I didn’t have much.”

“We’ll have to go shopping.”

“You don’t have to…” She trailed off when she saw Regina standing there. “Is this Regina?”

“You tell her all about me, Snow?” Regina asked with a smile.

“I recognized you from the pictures,” Emma gestured to the ones on the wall. “So, you’re like…my ex-step-grandma?”

Regina narrowed her eyes. “I am not a grandma, young lady.”

Emma laughed. “I don’t know about that, I think I see some grey hair…”

“Mary Margaret, can you get your daughter to behave?”

Mary Margaret chuckled, shaking her head. “Just call her, Regina.”

Emma smirked. “Alright.” She settled at the stool beside Regina. “So…you and Mary Margaret are close?”

“I’ve know her a long time. Even before I was her step-mom,” Regina explained.

“You don’t look that much older than her.”

 

An awkward silence filled the loft and Mary Margaret looked away. Regina cleared her throat.

  
“8 years. My mother arranged for me to marry Mary Margaret’s dad when I was 18. It wasn’t a happy marriage, but it gave me your mother as a friend, so I’ll take it,” Regina explained.

Emma slowly nodded. She didn’t think that arranged marriages were still a thing of the 21st century. She could tell that neither woman wanted to keep talking, so she changed the subject. “Did you know David? When he was younger?”

“I knew of him, but we weren’t that close.” She gave a protective smile at her friend. “I can’t wait to be better reacquainted with him.”

 

Mary Margaret practically flung the plates down in front of Emma and Regina.

 

“Let’s eat,” she said, giving Regina a warning look, but Regina just smirked and sipped her drink.

* * *

 

David drew a deep breath as he knocked on his mother and Eudora’s door that night. He hadn’t ever been this nervous to have a dinner with his mother, not since the first time he came to visit after Emma was born. He swore that someone would’ve found out and somehow told her, but she had been oblivious and it had stayed that way.

 

Until that night.

 

Ruth had met Eudora six years prior. She had long since given up the farm and had gotten a job as a nanny for a prominent family. At one of the parties they threw, Eudora had been there. She was a widow herself, with a grown daughter. Eudora and Ruth had a connection instantly, moving in together a year later and finally tying the knot just 10 months before Emma showed up. David had never seen his mother so happy and he loved his new step-sister, Tiana. She had grown a close bond with both of her step-brothers, despite meeting as adults.

 

In order to keep the families close, Eudora and Ruth insisted on having dinner at least once a month with all their children and whoever they were dating at the time. Tiana was currently engaged to Drew and James had been married to Belle for 5 years. David was the only single one.

 

Yet, suddenly, his brother James wasn’t the only father.

 

Eudora opened the door and grinned. “David, hello.” She wrapped him in a hug and then lead him inside. “How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“Great. Your mother has been so looking forward to this dinner.”

 

She was about to lead them into the living room, when the doorbell rang again. James and Belle stood on the other side, the latter rubbing her swollen baby bump.

 

“Sorry we’re late,” Belle said, kissing Eudora’s cheek, before moving onto doing the same to David. “We had to drop off Gideon with his father.”

 

Belle had been married before, to an older man named Elliot Gold. They had a beautiful love story, but in the end they were just two very different people. They divorced when their son was still a baby and Belle met James not long after. Ruth and Eudora had been hesitant about James dating someone with a kid, given his track record, but as it turned out, it was all for the better. They were now happily married and co-parented beautifully with Elliot. James considered Gideon his own and that wouldn’t change with their little one on the way.

 

Maybe if his mother had come around to Belle and Gideon, her finding about Emma wouldn’t be so bad.

 

“Oh it’s too bad he couldn’t come,” Eudora said, leading the three into the living room. “I made his favorite cookies.”

“Next time,” Belle promised. She hugged Tiana before settling down next to Ruth who instantly began fussing over her.

James took in his brother. “You alright, Davey?”

“I’m fine. And don’t call me that,” he insisted.

James smirked. “I thought that was your favorite nickname, Davey.”

“Shut up, _Jamie_.” David glared over at him.

 “Boys,” Ruth gave them a look. “Will you two ever grow up?”

“I highly doubt it,” Tiana piped up, leaning into Drew. “They’re still children.”

“You never knew us as children,” James pointed out.

“Never had to.”

 

David couldn’t help but smile. The snark came so naturally to this entire family and he was grateful for that.

 

“So…there’s something I have to talk to you all about,” David said. “So, maybe it’s good that Gideon’s not here. It’s kind of an adult situation.”

James raised an eyebrow. “Are you finally going to tell us that you and Killian are together?”

David rolled his eyes. He was bisexual, yet somehow his brother didn’t get that it meant that it didn’t mean he had feelings for his roommate. “For the millionth time, Killian is my friend.”

“Okay…”

“James,” Belle tapped him on the arm. “Let him talk.” She gave David a kind look, giving him the floor and that made him feel even more guilty. He should’ve at least told them. James and Belle were always there for him, no matter what.

Ruth tilted her head. “David, are you alright?” She quickly stood up. “You’re not sick or anything are you?”

“No, Mom, I’m fine.” David saw the panicked look in her eyes. “I promise, _I’m fine_. It’s just…do you remember Mary Margaret Blanchard?”

 

Ruth and James consulted each other for a minute, trying to remember and he didn’t blame them. It wasn’t like they had ever really met her.

 

“She was the quiet one, right?” James asked.

“She does the news,” Eudora pointed out. “The local one, Good Morning Storybrooke.”

“That’s right.” David nodded. “Well…in high school, senior year.” He gulped. “We sort of hooked up. We didn’t think we’d have to ever think about it again, but then she got pregnant.”

 

A silence fell over the room and he suddenly felt all eyes on him. Ruth took a step forward.

 

“Pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“You knew she got pregnant back then?”

David flinched. “I did. Together…we decided it’d be best to place the child for adoption, which we did,” he continued, quickly. “But the thing is, she was never adopted. We thought she was, but a bunch of stuff happened and she just…wasn’t. So, now she’s back in our lives. She’s 15, her name is Emma.” David fumbled through his pocket and pulled out his phone, showing a picture he had taken of her when they had dinner with Mary Margaret after Emma agreed to give them a chance. “We’re going to split custody of her.”

 

There was more silence. James and Belle were looking at each other in shock, as were Eudora, Tiana and Drew. The only one that didn’t look surprised, was Ruth. That was only because she looked hurt.

 

“I have a granddaughter,” she whispered. “I’ve had a granddaughter for _15 years_ and you never told me she existed.”

Guilt seeped into the pit of his stomach. “Mom…”

“Why?” When David didn’t say anything, she took another step forward. “David Robert Nolan, I asked you, why?!?”

 

James jumped up and put a hand on his mother’s shoulder. He had never seen her this angry or hurt, not even when Robert himself had been drinking.

 

“I was going to tell you,” David whispered. “The night after prom. But you were just so damn proud about Yale and everything else, I…I got scared. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Disappoint me?”

“I had gotten a girl pregnant, I didn’t think…”

“You’re right. You didn’t.” She shut her eyes before opening them again. “I want to meet my grandchild, but right now, I don’t want to see you.”

“Mom.”

 

Ruth pulled away from James and went up the stairs. Eudora went up after her and James turned to his brother.

 

“Mom’s right,” he whispered. “You really need to leave.”


	4. Chapter 4

Emma was used to first days of school, to being the new kid. Boston was such a huge city and whenever she would be moved to a new home, there was a chance that she’d be brought to a new school district. Once all of her files had been sent to Storybrooke Academy, she was expected to start. She didn’t even mind.

 

That was until she found out that there were uniforms.

 

“I thought this was a public school,” she told Mary Margaret on their shopping trip the day after their lunch with Regina. She was letting Mary Margaret buy her whatever she wanted, though she kept staring at the ever growing pile. At least there was no pink.

“No. It’s private. There is a public high school, but it’s honestly not the best and it’s further away from the loft,” Mary Margaret explained as she looked through the button up shirts. She could see the look on her daughter’s face. “It’s not going to be that bad. Only 5 days a week and you can change as soon as you’re done.”

“I’m not wearing a skirt.”

“You don’t have to. There’s khakis or the navy pants. I ordered you a few vests with the logos as well.”

“You really don’t have to get me so much stuff.”

“You’re going to need it.”

“I don’t think I could wear all of this in a lifetime.”

“Well, you’re going to be living with David, too.” Emma tried to ignore the look that fell across Mary Margaret’s face at the mention of him. “This way, you won’t have to bring clothes back and forth.”

“How long are you going to hate him?”

“Hate who?”

“David.”

 

Mary Margaret paused, her hands hovering above the pants she had been looking at. Emma knew that David had broke her heart, but it had been 15 years, hadn’t it? He had been 18 years old. How bad could it have really been? Maybe a part of her didn’t want to know that.

 

“I don’t hate David,” Mary Margaret said, finally, pulling the khakis off the rack. “I forgave him a long time ago.”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

Mary Margaret sighed. “It’s just a really complicated thing.”

“He was young when he made the choices he did.”

“It doesn’t make them hurt any less. Look, we’re going to get along so we can best take care of you.” Before Emma could say anything else, she put the pants in the cart. “Let’s go look at shoes and then you can come try all of this on.”

* * *

 

The uniform wasn’t that bad, Emma supposed. The shirts were comfortable and were blue, she liked blue. She had chosen to go with the darker pants rather than the khakis and paired with the sweater, she did look like something out of an 80s rock video. She let her hair hang loose and pulled a black beanie over her head, Mary Margaret said she could accessorize after all.

 

She headed down the stairs and was instantly hit by a flash. She blinked a few times before finding Mary Margaret standing there, a polaroid camera in one hand, fanning out a picture with the other. She was smiling brightly.

 

“You look so beautiful,” she said.

Emma rolled her eyes. “It’s just a school uniform.”

“I’ve never gotten to send you off to your first day of school, let me have my fun.”

 

Emma honestly couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been this excited for her to start school. She walked over to the island, plopping down and taking a spoonful from the bowl of Cheerios that had been left out for her. That was something she was still adjusting to in a bit. Ed had food in the house-most of the time-but he’d never prepare any actual meals for Emma. Ever since she moved in with Mary Margaret, her mom had either cooked for her or they had gone to Granny’s.

 

“So, I put together some lunch for you,” Mary Margaret said, walking around to the other side of the island. She held up a lunchbox that she had packed, it was a simple red one that Emma had picked out and seemed so much more sturdy than the brown paper bags she had carried around Boston. Her backpack was just as strong, if not more so. It definitely wouldn’t rip and need to be repaired with duct tape anytime soon. “I have to head to the studio in a bit, so you’ll have to take the bus. Do you remember where it is?”

Emma did her best to hold back an eyeroll. “You only showed me half a dozen times.”

Mary Margaret held back a sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just…nervous, I guess. Here, I want to give you this.”

 

She grabbed a box from under the counter and pushed it towards her daughter. Emma moved off the bow and lifted the lid, finding a cell phone inside. It was the latest version of the iPhone, with a red protective case over it. She tilted her head.

 

“Mary Margaret…”

“I’ve put you on my plan. It’s got unlimited text, call and internet. I’ve programmed my number, David’s as well. You can text or call us anytime.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“Of course I did, you’re my daughter.”

 

Daughter. That word still sounded so damn foreign to her.

 

A quick knock at the door interrupted the sweet moment between the two of them. Mary Margaret walked around the island and over to it, finding David on the other side.

 

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to take Emma to school.”

“Oh. Well, the bus is coming…”

“Can I not take my own kid to school?”

 

Mary Margaret thought about what Emma had said at the store over the weekend. She had to try, she wanted to try. It was what was best for their daughter, she needed them to get along.

 

“Of course you can. Come in.”

Once Mary Margaret stepped to the side, David walked in and grinned at Emma. “Hey kiddo,” he said.

“David.” Emma smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking you to school, if that’s okay with you.”

“Better than the bus.”

“Finish your breakfast and then we can go.”

 

Emma wolfed down the rest of her food, not noticing the looks that her parents were giving her. Once she was done, she grabbed her backpack, shoving her lunchbox inside before throwing the bag over her shoulder and hopping off the stool. She noticed that David was staring at her for a minute.

 

“What? Do I have milk on my mouth?”

“No, it’s just uh…you look like your mother did when she was in high school with that uniform.”

“She’s got your coloring,” Mary Margaret pointed out.

“True, but…still.” He shook it off. “Come on, let’s go.”

 

Emma headed to the door, but then paused at Mary Margaret. She wasn’t sure if she should hug her or kiss her cheek, they were still trying to set up boundaries between the two of them.

 

“So um, I’ll see you later?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “Yeah, see you later.” She quickly kissed the top of her head. “Have a good day.”

“You too.”

 

David opened the door to lead her out and Emma followed him out to his car. Classic rock played over the radio and Emma looked around it, noting a briefcase in the back. It took her a moment to realize that David was dressed in a suit, it was the first time she had seen him so dressed up since they met.

 

“You working today?”

David nodded. “Yes, I’ve got to go to court.”

“What’s the case?”

“Standard custody hearing. Luckily the parents agree on what needs to be done, so it should be easy.”

“Lucky,” Emma murmured. She noticed the odd look he was giving her and forced a smile. “So…I’ve met some of Mary Margaret’s family. When do I get to meet yours?”

“Well, I could take you by my place to meet my roommate’s daughter and everything this afternoon.”

“I meant like your mom, your step-mom and siblings.”

David gripped the wheel, gnawing on his lip. “That may take a bit.”

“Why?”

 

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck once they approached a red light.

 

“Emma, I was really young when Mary Margaret got pregnant with you. I was scared…”

“I got that from all the fighting you two have been doing.”

“It’s just that…at the time…I didn’t tell too many people about you. I had a girlfriend at the time…”

“Whoa wait, you cheated on your girlfriend with Mary Margaret?”

“No, no. My girlfriend and I were on a break, seeing other people when I got together with your mom. Anyway, I told her when I broke up with her for good, but I…I never told my mom or my brother.”

“Why?”

“I was scared. Scared of how they’d look at me, scared that they’d hate me or think less of me, that they’d be disappointed. James and I were the first people in our family to go to college.”

“Were you ashamed of me?”

 

David looked over and saw the shock in Emma’s eyes. She looked so vulnerable and it broke his heart. He pulled to the side of the road, putting his car in park.

 

“No,” he said. He saw the doubt in her eyes. “Emma, no. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I was a coward back then, I couldn’t stand the thought that people would think differently of me. I loved you, from the moment I knew you were coming.”

“Right.”

“I did. Look.”

 

David reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped past a picture of Ruth and Eudora and another of Belle, James and Gideon to get to the sonogram. Emma studied it, confused.

 

“What’s that?”

“This is the sonogram your mother gave me when she was pregnant. It was the only picture I had of you for 15 years.”

“And you held onto it?”

“I never could let it go. You were apart of me and I thought of you every single day. I might not have carried you or been there when you were born, but you never left my mind or my heart. You were my daughter and if I knew that you were struggling as much as you were, I would’ve been there in a heartbeat.”

 

Emma stared at the sonogram for a moment, a frown on her face. Eventually, it slowly formed into a tiny smile. David couldn’t help but match it as she looked back up at him.

 

“You should probably replace it.”

“I will.” He put the car back into drive and continued to head towards the school. “So, I did tell my mom about you and she was upset. Not at you, at me. She missed out on 15 years of your life and it’s my fault.”

“Do you think she wants to meet me?”

“Oh, of course. My brother, step-mom and step-sister do too. I’m sure they’ll even see you before they’ve forgiven me for all of it.”

“What are they like?”

 

David spent the rest of the ride telling Emma about his parents and siblings. He told her about James and how Emma had nearly two cousins. He explained the big hoopla that was going around Tiana and Drew’s wedding-which Tiana had texted him that he wanted to talk to Emma about. He hoped that deep down, no matter how mad they were at him, they wouldn’t wait to get to know Emma.

 

After another 10 minutes of driving, David pulled up in front of Storybrooke Academy. It was like being pulled into a time warp, nothing had changed. The sprawling campus had several stone buildings, all named for dead white guys that had contributed something to the town or the school. A part of him had always hated going there, but Ruth had insisted. He was now splitting tuition with Mary Margaret and knew that it was the best option for Emma, he just hoped that she enjoyed it more than he had.

 

“Do you want me to come in with you?” He asked.

Emma laughed, as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “This isn’t my first school.”

“Well, I’ll pick you up once classes are done. Like I said, I’ll take you back to my place for a bit.”

“Mary Margaret knows?”

“Yes.”

“Well…okay.”

“Have a great day. She gave you a phone, right? Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

 

He kissed her cheek and she blushed a bit before hopping out of the car. He watched as she walked into the administration building, before pulling out of the lot. He had a kid in high school, how the hell had that happened?

* * *

 

Storybrooke Academy was a tad more intimidating than Emma had imagined. She had never gone to a private school before. The closest thing had probably been the Catholic charter school that Bill and Katie had forced her to go to during her 6 months with them. As strict as that dress code was, at least they didn’t have a uniform and it was all in one small building. The secretary gave her a map of the school along with her classes and she looked around, wondering if she got lost enough, she’d find a dragon to slay or something.

 

She was able to find the building that her first class was in easy enough, but the numbering systems of the classroom weren’t as clear. Emma realized she’d be hard pressed to find anyone t willingly help her, most of them were staring and whispering. Storybrooke really was that small, a new student stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

Before she could give up and find a teacher, two girls walked in front of her. One was wearing a navy dress with the school’s logo in the corner and had a blonde braid going down her back. The other was wearing the typical plaid skirt but the button up shirt was tied above her belly button, revealing a piercing. Her raven hair went wild and she was grinning from ear to ear.

 

“You look lost.”

“That obvious, huh?”

“I was the new girl last year,” the blonde noted, her voice a bit softer than her friend. “I’m Elsa. That’s Lily.”

“Emma. Emma Swan.”

Lily studied her for a moment, before snapping her fingers. “You’re Mary Margaret’s long lost kid.”

“You know about me?”

“My mom works with Regina, we run in similar circles.”

“Think you could help me find my class then?”

Lily’s grin widened. “We’d be more than happy to.”

 

She grabbed hold of Emma’s schedule and they compared it with their own. As it turned out, most of her classes had at least one of them in it. Lily was with her in first period English, so she allowed her to take her by the arm and lead her off. By the time they got to the classroom, Emma felt like she knew everything she needed to about Lily. She was an only child, her mom was a single parent by choice. Elsa was pretty much her only friend, though she got along with some boys in the older grades.

 

As soon as they walked into the classroom, the teacher stopped writing on the board and turned to them. He tilted his eyes up to the ceiling before, looking back down at Lily.

  
“Lilith, you know the rules.”

“That you have to have a stick up your…”

“Do you want detention, again?”

 

Lily rolled her eyes, but untied her shirt, allowing it to fall down. She took her seat towards the back of the class and Emma went to follow, when the teacher cleared his throat.

 

“And you are?”

“Emma Swan,” she said. “I’m new.” She handed over the form that the secretary had told her to get signed by all her teachers that day and he quickly scribbled on it before consulting his roster.

“Ah yes, Miss Swan. Welcome, where are you from?”

“Boston.”

“Well, I hope they taught you well there. We have a heavy course load and a test on Wednesday, but I’ll allow you to study and make up for it next week. Sound good?”

“Um, yes.”

“Great. Now, go take a seat.”

 

Emma went towards the back, settling down next to Lily.

 

“Ignore Forrester,” Lily whispered. “Everyone does. I swear, he’s like the town grump.”

“This school is the most serious one I’ve ever been in,” Emma mumbled. “And I once went to Catholic school.”

“You’re Catholic?”

“No. Foster parents were.”

“You were in the system?”

Emma nodded. “12 years.”

“Miss Page, Miss Swan,” Mr. Forrester interrupted their conversation. “Anything you want to share with the class?”

“F. Scott Fitzgerald plagiarized his wife’s work,” Lily replied, without missing a beat.

 

Emma couldn’t help but giggle, as did most of the people around them. Mr. Forrester rolled his eyes before moving onto discussing the book at hand.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was a lot of fun with Lily and Elsa by her side. They knew how to joke around and despite most of the school looking at them weirdly, they just didn’t care. For once, Emma felt like she could actually feel herself making friends outside of August. He had gone back to Boston and she hadn’t realized how lonely she was. Sure, maybe they weren’t the best influences, but they were what she needed. Elsa even offered to help her catch up with the work.

 

It was officially one of the best first days of her life.

 

She actually left the school with a smile on her face, Elsa and Lily on either side of her. David’s car was in front of the car pool lane and Emma couldn’t help but feel her smile grow. She wasn’t used to people keeping their promises, but there he was.

 

“I gotta go.”

“Is that your dad?” Elsa asked.

“Um, yeah. I guess.”

“David Nolan.” Lily let out a low whistle. “You’re lucky.”

“I am?”

“He’s one of the nicest guys in town.”

“If you say so. I better go, but I’ll text you guys later.”

 

She got in the car and David pulled out of the lot.

 

“How was your day?” He asked.

“It was actually pretty good.”

“It seemed like it. Those friends of yours?”

“We hung out pretty much all day.”

“Sounds like friends to me.”

“Maybe. And your day?”

“Good. My client got the custody schedule they wanted, that’s all I can ask for.”

 

David’s house was closer to the school than Mary Margaret’s loft so they were there in no time. Once they got inside, Emma found herself being attacked in a hug. Her eyes widened and she sort of planked in place, looking over the stranger’s shoulder at David.

 

“Who is this?” She asked.

“I’m Alice!” The stranger pulled away and allowed Emma to get a good look at her. She had wild blonde curls that bounced down her shoulders and big blue eyes that were filled with wonder. She didn’t look to be much older than she was. “I’m Killian’s daughter. I’ve heard so much about you. I mean, not until today, Papa said you were coming over. I had no clue that David had a daughter, but that is so awesome. I think he’d make a great dad and…”

“Starfish.” Killian appeared behind his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Breathe.”

Alice let out a deep breath before a smile returned to her lips. “Sorry, I’m just…I get a bit excited is all.”

“A bit?” Emma asked.

She giggled. “You’re funny, cute too. You look so much like David…” Alice must have realized she was rambling again, because she stopped. “Anyway, like I said, I’m Alice. I don’t live here anymore, but I visit.”

“Emma.” Though, she had a feeling that Alice already knew that. “So…David’s lived with you guys awhile?”

“Going on what, 7 years now?” Alice looked back at her father for confirmation and he nodded. “I can show you your room, I know Papa and David have been working hard on it. It used to be mine, but like I said, I’ve got my own place now.”

 

Alice stilled for once, clearly understanding that she might be a bit too much for Emma to handle. After a moment, Emma nodded and adjusted her backpack, following Alice up the stairs and to the right. The room was painted red and had lots of different murals done throughout, clearly done by different artists. The bedspread was a lot more her style than the one at Mary Margaret’s was, it was red with bits of blacks throughout it.

 

Emma listened to Alice talk a bit, as she took in the room. She laid her backpack down and picked up various accessories, like a mirror on the desk or ran her fingers along the spines of some of the books on the shelves. Eventually, Alice went downstairs to grab them a snack and Emma decided to look around more of the house. A quick peak into Killian and David’s rooms didn’t tell her too much. They were so unlike Alice’s, void of any real personality.

 

She headed back down the stairs and started looking around the living room. There were pictures and degrees everywhere. She noticed that in a lot of them, David, Killian and Alice all looked like a happy family. There were ones of them on vacations, at birthday parties.

 

Emma couldn’t help but pause at a series of three frames by yet another bookshelf. Alice’s high school diploma was proudly framed, with a picture of her accepting her degree on one side. On the other was one of her in her gown standing between David and Killian. Both men had their arms around her, beaming proudly. They were a little family. Even if they weren’t a couple, David had helped his friend raise his daughter for the past 7 years. He was there for her, when he wasn’t there for Emma. Despite him having his reasons, Emma felt a bit of jealousy creep up in the pit of her stomach.

 

Sure, he’d probably be at her own high school graduation, where had he been for the rest of the big moments? Where had both he and Mary Margaret been?

 

The jealousy only grew and the tears built up in her eyes.

 

Emma wouldn’t remember what happened next. One minute, she was just going to hold the picture and the next moment…it was on the floor, glass everywhere. She bolted up the stairs to grab her backpack, before running out the door. David was calling after her, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t until she was back near the school that she pulled out her phone and texted Mary Margaret to come pick her up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After such a good day, too. 
> 
> As always, let me know what you think and what you'd like to see happen next. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Mary Margaret was surprised to get a text from Emma saying that she needed to be picked up. Had David not showed up? That didn’t make any sense. As much as she was hurt, she knew that he wouldn’t just leave Emma there. He had fought to have a role in her life, to make sure that they’d get 50/50 custody.

 

Yet, when she pulled up at the school and saw Emma sitting on the curb, a tear stained face, she felt a strange sense of protection budding in the pit of her stomach. David had made her daughter cry. She should’ve known all of this was a mistake. He had let them down before and he was doing it again.

 

Emma looked up and walked to the car, climbing into the passenger seat. She threw her bag down at her feet and stared out the window.

 

“Emma, how long have you been out here?”

“Not long.”

“I can’t believe David didn’t come for you.”

Emma looked over at her, confused. “He did come.”

Mary Margaret’s brows furrowed. “Then why did you go back here? What happened?”

“Nothing. Can we just go back to the loft?”

“Emma…”

“Please, Mary Margaret. I have a lot of homework.”

 

Mary Margaret bit down on her lip. She knew she should push, but she worried it’d just put a bigger rift between the two of them. She’d get answers later. In the meantime, she drove back to the loft. The only sound in the car was that of the radio, classic rock playing through the speakers.

 

As soon as she unlocked the door to her loft, Emma stormed up the steps to her room. Mary Margaret sighed, dropping her purse onto the counter and running her fingers through her hair. So much for Emma having a great first day.

 

She was halfway through prepping her notes for the next day’s show when there was a knock on the door. She found David on the other side, looking panicked.

  
“Is Emma here?”

“Yeah, she’s upstairs, doing her homework.” Mary Margaret folded her arms over her chest. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Really? Because why else would she walk back to the school and have me come get her?”

“I think she…” David rubbed the back of his neck. “I think she got a little jealous of Alice.”

“Alice?”

“My roommate’s daughter. I’ve been helping Killian take care of her for the past 7 years and there’s lots of pictures of her everywhere. I didn’t think about how that could upset her.”

 

Mary Margaret pursed her lips. Clearly David didn’t realize that this bit of news was going to upset her either. He wasn’t ready to raise a child with her, but he would some random girl with his roommate? She knew she was being irrational, he was a teenager when they got pregnant. He was an adult when this Alice came into his life. The two situations were so different and yet…she had this overwhelming desire to smack him. How could he not see that this was going to hurt both of them?

 

“Are you dating this Killian?”

“No. We’re just really good friends, we helped each other through a really tough time.”

“Clearly, you helped him with his kid.”

David gnawed on his lip. “I know how it looks. I didn’t think about it that way when I brought Emma over, but trust me…I thought about the irony every day when I was living with them. I should’ve been there for you and Emma.”

“You were 18, so was I. We both made our choices.”

“Mare…”

“Look, she’s really upset. You can try talking to her, but I don’t know if she’s going to want to.”

 

She stepped aside and he walked inside, heading up the stairs. He was trying, Mary Margaret told herself. That didn’t make it any easier. If he hadn’t shown up to try to make things right, she could hate him. Yet, she could see that he was doing all he could to be a good father. He messed up and she would too, but in the end as long as they both tried…could she really be mad at him?

 

Mary Margaret shook it off and headed back to her work. She needed to focus on that, she couldn’t risk losing her job, not when she had another mouth to feed.

* * *

 

David walked up the metal steps to Emma’s room and found her at the desk, filling out a worksheet. He cleared his throat so she’d know he was there and she looked up, a frown overtaking her face.

 

“I’ll pay for a new frame,” she said simply, before looking back down at the sheet.

“I don’t care about the frame. Em, can we please talk?”

 

Emma didn’t say anything, her eyes stayed focused on what was in front of her. David let out another sigh and dropped down on the bed. He reached over, grabbing the baby blanket that was folded over the side of the bed. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the white wool.

 

“I should’ve explained Alice more to you before I brought you over,” he said.

“You don’t owe me an explanation. You have a life.”

“Still, I know it can’t be easy to see that. I took care of her and I didn’t have you with me until now…you have to understand that a lot changed between the time I was 18 and then 26.”

Emma spun around in her spin chair, rolling her eyes. “I get it, okay?  You were a different man. You would go back and change things if you could, but you can’t. It doesn’t change that you want to get to know me. That about sum it up?”

“I just don’t want this to get in the way of our relationship.”

“What relationship?”

“Emma…”

“Look, I didn’t want this to begin with. I wanted to get emancipated, but you and Mary Margaret refused. Now I’m stuck in your custody. You already have a family, I don’t need to be a part of it. I can just live with Mary Margaret until I’m 18.”

 

David’s face fell and he pulled the chair so it was in front of him. Emma went to get up, but he grabbed her hand.

 

“That’s not what I want, Emma.” He looked her right in the eyes, the ones that so perfectly mirrored her mother’s. “I want you in my life. You’re my daughter. And every day I took care of Alice, I thought of my little girl. I thought “What would it be like if I got to do all of this with her?” But I knew I couldn’t. She wasn’t your replacement, she and I have a special relationship. I’m not her father, I’ve always been more of an uncle. I don’t want to be that to you, I want to be your father. I _am_ your father.”

Emma looked down at the hand that was on top of hers before meeting his gaze again. “I can’t be her, you know. I’m not Alice.”

“I don’t want you to be. I just want to get to know Emma.”

 

Emma frowned for a few moments, before slowly pulling away.

 

“I’m sorry I broke the frame.”

“It’s fine. I can get another one.” He checked his watch. “Maybe after your homework, I could take you to get something to eat. I promised you an afternoon with me.”

“I…”

 

Emma was going to blow him off, but she could see the desperation in his eyes. He wanted to try. She was so used to pushing people away, but maybe she could give him a chance.

 

“Sure. I don’t have a lot to do.”

“Awesome.” David kissed her cheek and then stood up. “I’ll be downstairs.”

 

David headed back down the stairs and found Mary Margaret sitting at the island with her index cards. She looked up at him when she heard the floorboard squeak and adjusted the glasses that she was wearing on her face.

 

“How’d it go?”

David shrugged. “She’s still hurt, but she agreed to have dinner with me. If that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine.” She paused. “So, the social worker is coming by tomorrow, make sure the place is up to code and everything.”

“Yeah, we’ve got one of those too.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”

“You mean romantically?” David dropped down on the stool next to her. “No. You?”

“Not anymore.”

“Yeah, weren’t you with Herc or whatever?”

“We were, but it didn’t work out.”

“Was he a bigger jerk than me?”

Mary Margaret laughed, shaking her head. “He was actually a really great guy. Good at his job, sweet, romantic.”

“What was the problem?”

“He wanted to get married and I didn’t.”

“Interesting.”

She tilted her head. “What?”

“It’s just…if he was such a great guy, I don’t see why you wouldn’t say yes.”

 

Mary Margaret ran her fingers around the rim of the coffee mug that held her tea.

 

“I wasn’t in love with him.” She saw the surprise on David’s face. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved him. You don’t date someone for two years and not love them…but I wasn’t in love. Not the kind that means that you should get married.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“I’m surprised you’re not snatched up by now,” she shot back with a smirk.

David chuckled. “It’s not for lack of trying. I dated a bit in college, but nothing came of it. Around here, I feel like everyone knows everyone and you either get paired off at 16 or your past is enough to scare them off.”

“Maybe it’s best we’re not with other people. I can’t imagine what their reaction to Emma would be.”

“If they had a problem with it, they wouldn’t be worth it.”

“You’re right.”

 

They were silent for a few more minutes. Mary Margaret decided to tap into her hostess skills and poured him his own cup of tea and offered him some cookies, which he politely declined.

 

“I wanted to apologize,” he said.

“David, if this is about the past…”

“It’s about when we ran into each other a few years back.”

 

Mary Margaret flinched. She could remember that day clearly. She had been expecting to see David, but not to have him yell at her in the middle of the street. A part of her was still embarrassed that she had confessed her feelings to him, admitted that she had held a candle for him for so long. How could she have allowed herself to become so vulnerable?

 

“David…”

“I was wrong to just yell at you about all of that. You were right, you had no obligation to tell me anything about Emma.”

“You were hurt.”

“I put myself in the situation I was in. I chose to leave you and there’s not a day that’s gone by that I don’t regret it.”

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I know. I’m only doing it because I mean it.” He shook his head. “I should’ve been braver, I should’ve believed in myself. If I had just told my mother…we could’ve been a family now. You never would’ve been forced to give Emma up.” His hand fell over hers. “I am so sorry, Mary Margaret. You deserved so much more than me, you still do.”

 

The tears gathered up in Mary Margaret’s eyes. She had been waiting for this apology for 15 years and suddenly it was in front of her. It was too much, he was so sincere. He seemed to really care and she couldn’t let that keep happening. She couldn’t open up her heart and admit what she was feeling inside, not again. Far too much time had passed.

 

“Well,” she cleared her throat and blinked the tears away. “Thank you.” She pulled her hand away. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to give Emma the best life we can.”

“Of course.”

 

Emma came down the stairs a little bit later, her backpack pulled over her shoulder.

 

“Finished,” she said. “Ready?”

David nodded and got up. “Yeah.” He looked over at Mary Margaret. “Do you want to come with us?

 

Mary Margaret wanted to say yes, she wanted them to have a family meal and pretend that nothing had happened. That she could sit at a table with David and not feel an overwhelming sensation in her to just lean in and kiss him. No, she had to wait until the feelings she had went away. It was the only way they were going to be able to co-parent Emma. She needed parents that got along, not ones that were longing for each other. Or, one in that case. There was no way that David was ever going to feel the same.

 

“Thanks, but I’ve got to get ready for tomorrow. Have fun, though.”

 

She kissed Emma’s cheek and watched them walk out the door. Once she saw that David’s car had disappeared from the front of the apartment building, she went into her closet and started rooting through all the shoe boxes until she got to the back where there was a bigger box. She dug through all the high school mementos, prom tickets and football game flyers, until she got to her yearbook.

 

She flipped through the pages until she landed to the only picture of her and David from any of the books, probably the only picture of them, period. They had been at a basketball game with all of their friends and somehow, they ended up sitting next to each other. Kathryn was on the other side of him, but she had been cut out of the shot somehow. David was pointing to something on the court and smiling, while Mary Margaret had clearly let out a laugh.

 

She traced their faces with her finger and allowed a tear to fall down her cheek. David had signed the yearbook before prom, before their lives changed forever.

 

**Never stop smiling. Good luck with everything.-David Nolan**

 

Mary Margaret threw the book to the ground and allowed a sob to escape her lips. How could she still love him?

* * *

 

Mary Margaret found herself at the Rabbit Hole that night. David and Emma had decided to hang out a bit longer, to make up for the time they had missed out later. She figured she owed herself a drink. She had forgotten it was karaoke night, but she tuned out the tone deaf and those that got overly sappy as she nursed a margarita. Ruby walked over to her, a smile on her face.

 

“What are you doing here, Mommy? Don’t you have a kid to take care of?”

“She’s with her dad.”

“Still, this isn’t exactly your scene.”

“I needed a drink, to take my mind off things.” She looked around. “Where’s Archie?”

“Hiding so I don’t make him sing a song.” Her eyes lit up like wildfire. “But maybe we could?”

Mary Margaret groaned. “Ruby…”

“Come on, just like old times. Except, instead of hairbrushes and cheap wine I stole from Granny, it’ll be actual good booze and a real karaoke machine.”

“I don’t sing.”

“I’ll let you pick the song…” Ruby dragged out her voice in a sing-song like one and then pouted, which made Mary Margaret sigh.

“Fine, fine. You win.”

 

Ruby clapped her hands and practically dragged her friend to the book. Mary Margaret flipped through them, wanting to make it count. She came across something that she knew her best friend hated, musicals. She smirked and pointed to an ABBA number that just so happened to fit her feelings. Ruby groaned, tipping her head back.

 

“You said I could pick the song,” Mary Margaret pointed out.

“But ABBA? Really?”

“Suck it up.”

Archie walked over to the two of them, smiling. “So, Mare, you saving me from having to sing with her?”

“Yes and it’s a song she hates.”

He chuckled. “I suppose karma is a…” He trailed off when he looked over her shoulder. “Oh, David’s here.”

Mary Margaret turned around and found him heading towards them. “What are you doing here?”

“Can’t a guy grab a drink?” He asked.

“Where’s our daughter?”

“I dropped her off at the loft, it was getting late.”

“Oh.”

Ruby nudged her in the ribs. “Come on. It’s almost our turn.”

 

They gave their song to Lacey, who was running the machine, and she flicked some buttons to have it come up on the screen. Mary Margaret watched the first lines appear, before realizing that it was the version from the second movie…which meant she’d be doing most of it. She shot Ruby a dirty look and she just smirked.

  
“I told you I don’t do ABBA.”

 

Mary Margaret sighed, but knew it was almost her time. She clutched the mic, looking out into the crowd.

 

_I was cheated by you and I think you know when_

_So I made up my mind, it must come to an end_  
Look at me now, will I ever learn?  
I don't know how but I suddenly lose control  
There's a fire within my soul  
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring  
One more look and I forget everything

Ruby joined her for the chorus, as promised, but Mary Margaret could barely hear her voice over the sound of her beating heart. She scanned the crowd and found Archie was looking at Ruby like she was the most amazing thing in the world. David was staring at her and it was like he could tell exactly why she had picked this song.

 

 _Mamma mia, here I go again_  
My my, how can I resist you?  
Mamma mia, does it show again  
My my, just how much I've missed you?

They continued on with the song, Ruby getting more into it as time went on. When it ended, those around the makeshift stage were clapping. Mary Margaret put the mic back in place and barely noticed Ruby run into her fiancé’s arms. She grabbed her jacket and was starting to leave, when she heard David’s voice.

  
“Mare.”

“I’ve got to get home. It’s getting late.”

“I just…”

“It doesn’t mean anything, David. Just let it go.”

 

With that, she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but I wanted to focus on David's family for a bit. We'll get to MM's soon.

David sat behind his desk, doing some research. It had been a couple of days since the incident at the bar and Mary Margaret was pretending like it didn’t happen, so he was too. He’d do anything to make her happy, it was what she deserved after all he put her through. He knew he still had feelings for her, but it was so much more complicated than that. They had to co-parent Emma and there couldn’t be any drama wrapped up in that.

 

The social worker had come out to do a check on both of their homes. She was way more critical than David had expected, though he figured she had to be. Luckily, they checked off all the boxes. Emma had her own bed, dresser and bed in each home. There were up to date smoke detectors and fire alarms. The only thing she wanted inspected were the stairs at the loft and Mary Margaret’s landlord promised to give them a check, but thought they’d be fine. They were granted custody of Emma and as long as things were still going well in three months-time, they would be able to apply for adoption. Mary Margaret kept commenting how it was weird they’d have to adopt their own daughter, but as she was a ward of the state, it was still necessary.

 

Emma also seemed surprised by the social worker’s inspection. Though, David was unsure if she was surprised that she approved it or that they had actually wanted the guardianship in the first place. He realized they were going to have to prove things to her, little by little.

 

There was a knock on his office door and he looked up, finding James standing there. The two brothers had vastly different work uniforms. While James ran the town bookstore with Belle and wore flannel button downs and jeans to do so, David had to wear suits or khakis to the office. James constantly teased him for it, especially when he had to wear his glasses. (The one way to tell them apart was that James had far better eyesight than his identical twin.)

 

“Hey brother,” James said, walking over and perching himself on his desk.

“You’re going to break it, sit in a chair.”

“I’ve been working out.” His brother flexed, making David roll his eyes. “Oh come on, like you don’t have your secretary perched on here all the time.”

“One, Meghan is half your size. Two, she’s professional. Unlike you.”

“I leave the professionalism to Belle.”

“What a surprise. Is there a reason you’re here?”

“I’m a messenger for Mom.”

 

David sat up straight in his seat, losing all sense of sarcasm. He had been trying to call his mother ever since he told them about Emma, but to no avail. He had even gone by the house, but Eudora told him to give her some space. He had obliged and slowly, his siblings had come around at least. Tiana and James, along with their respective significant others, wanted to meet their niece. David, however, wanted to hold out for Ruth.

 

“What’d she say?”

“Well, she’s still mad at you, but she does want to meet her granddaughter. She proposed dinner at their place, with dessert at Granny’s. Tonight.”

“It’s my night with Emma anyway, so I’m down.”

“Sounds good, I’ll let her know.”

“How’s she doing? Mom, I mean.”

James shrugged. “She’s pissed, Davey. I haven’t seen her this way in a really long time.”

 

David leaned back in his chair, running his hand over his face.

 

“You can’t really blame her,” James added. “You lied to her, you lied to all of us.”

“I didn’t lie…I just…didn’t say anything.”

“Well that makes it so much better.”

“I feel like shit already; you know?”

“Mom would’ve helped.”

“She couldn’t at the time. She would’ve wanted to, but she had no real way to.”

“Are you saying that because it’s true or because you didn’t want a kid?”

“I wanted Emma!” He shot up in his seat and could see the shock in James’ eyes. “I did, okay? It had nothing to do with me not wanting her and everything with me being scared. Heck, I still am!”

“Scared of what?”

“Being a good dad. I mean look around, James. We didn’t exactly have the best father ourselves before he died.”

 

James winced at the mention of their dad. Robert had been a terrible father. He drank most of their savings away and what he didn’t, he gambled. The drinking eventually poisoned his liver and lead to several hospital bills that they couldn’t pay. After he died, their farm never recovered. David wished he didn’t, but he blamed his father for getting sick. If he had just stopped drinking, if he hadn’t gambled, then they wouldn’t have struggled as much. Outside the addictions, he was abusive. David still had a scar on his shoulder from when he tried to get in the middle of them.

 

_“He wasn’t always like this,” Ruth had told the boys once after a fight._

 

David didn’t know if he believed that, but he did notice that his mother didn’t cry after Robert died.

 

“You’re not Dad,” James said, after a few moments of silence. “Heck, I was a lot like him in high school and I managed to turn my shit around.”

 

That was true. James had been alcoholic mess in high school. He had a new girl every week and was hardly ever home. The only reason he even got a scholarship to college was the fact that he played football alongside David. Then their sophomore year of college, he got in the car with a drunk driver (he was also drunk). Jack crashed the car, killing herself and the driver of the truck they had crashed into. James walked away from all of it without a scratch, but it was his wakeup call. He went to A.A and even got close with the son of the man that had been driving the truck, who was also in the program. Tiny was now a part of the family.

 

After graduation, James had moved back to Storybrooke and met Belle. He was an amazing step-father to Gideon and David knew he’d be the same with the child she was currently carrying.

 

“You were never like Dad,” James continued. “You’d never be like that to her.”

“I know that, subconsciously. Yet…I’m still afraid. I don’t want to screw any of this up.”

“And you won’t. You’re a good guy, Dave.” James hopped off his desk. “I better get back to the shop. Belle’s still insisting on working.”

“She’s stubborn.”

“Wouldn’t have her any other way though.”

 

He shot his brother a charming smile before walking out the door.

* * *

Emma didn’t know what to say when David texting asking if she’d be okay with meeting his side of the family that night. She was looking forward to a low key night with him after how hectic school had been. Yet, she wanted to meet them pretty badly. She had met Regina, but that was it when it came to either side of her newly found family. So, she responded “okay” and waited for him to pick her up that night.

 

“I thought your mom wasn’t talking to you,” Emma realized about halfway to Ruth and Eudora’s.

“She’s not.”

“And yet she still wants to meet me?”

“You don’t have anything to do with this, Em.”

“I kinda do. I’m the reason there’s so much of an uproar.”

“No. We all made the choices we did and yes, it’s because Mary Margaret got pregnant with you, but none of this is your fault.”

 

Emma wasn’t sure how much of that believed, but she let the subject drop. It wasn’t long before they pulled up at a beautiful stone house that looked more expensive than all her foster homes combined. She put her hand on the red button to release her seatbelt and looked back at her father.

 

“I thought you said your mom was a farmer.”

“She was, but she gave it up. When she married Eudora, she moved into her home.”

“And there’s no mote with a dragon?”

David chuckled. “I promise if any dragons pop up, I’ll slay them for you.”

“I think I’m capable of slaying my own dragons.”

He smiled. “I bet you are.”

 

They got out of the car and David knocked on the door. Tiana answered and gave her step-brother a sympathetic look, before turning to Emma.

 

“You must be Emma. My name’s Tiana.”

“Like the Disney movie?”

Tiana laughed, shaking her head. “No, but ironically my mom named me that because it means princess. Come in, come in.”

 

She lead the two of them inside, shutting the door behind them. Just like Mary Margaret and David’s places, there were pictures everywhere. A wedding portrait of two older women was in the foyer. Beside it was a picture of David at his law school graduation, above it, a picture of Tiana and a tall man. Emma tilted her head when she saw someone that looked near identical to David and a short woman with auburn hair, in a wedding photo.

 

“I thought you said you weren’t married,” Emma said, pointing to the photo.

David chuckled. “That’s not me, that’s my twin, James and his wife.”

“Oh. You weren’t kidding, you really are identical.”

“The differences become apparent about 5 minutes after meeting them, don’t worry,” Tiana assured her before leading them into the living room. There was a small crowd of people waiting and it made Emma feel a tad anxious. Tiana put a hand on the same man from the picture she had been in with. “This is my fiancé, Drew.” She gestured to a man that looked to be David’s mirror and the woman from the photo beside him. “That’s David’s twin, David and his wife, Belle, with her son, Gideon.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Belle said, giving her a quick hug.

“Oh,” Emma startled.

James chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Belle’s a hugger, just be warned.” He looked down at his step-son, who had his nose in a book. “Gid, meet your new cousin.”

Gideon looked up quickly and flashed a quick smile. “Hi.” A moment later, he was looking back at his book, which made his parents blush but Emma just laughed.

“He gets it from his mom,” James said. “He has a few spares in his backpack.”

“I think it’s good he loves it so much now,” Emma shrugged. “I never really got into books until I was older.” She didn’t add in that was because of her dyslexia, she wasn’t quite ready for David to know about that yet.

“And this,” Tiana turned to the two older woman that were near James. “Is my mom, Eudora and her wife, Ruth.”

 

Ruth looked as if she was about to cry. She took a step forward and put her hands on Emma’s cheeks. Emma felt a tad uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to come off as rude, so she allowed her grandmother to take her in.

 

“You have Mary Margaret’s eyes,” she whispered.

Emma smiled a little. “I guess.”

“Her chin too,” Eudora added.

“How would you even know that, Mom?” Tiana asked. “You’ve never even met her.”

“I’ve seen her on the nose, it’s a beautiful chin.” Blush tinted Emma’s cheeks. “Oh, don’t be embarrassed, honey.”

“That’s going to make her less embarrassed, Ma,” James teased.

Eudora rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. “I hope you like fried green tomatoes, Emma. Those are our starters.”

Emma still felt Ruth’s eyes on her, even after her hands were removed from her face. “Oh, well um, I’ve never had them before.”

“You’ll love them, everything Tiana and Eudora make is absolutely delicious,” Belle said. She linked arms with Emma. “So, what books are they teaching you about in school?”

 

She lead Emma to the dining room, Eudora, Tiana and Drew following. James wasn’t far behind with Gideon once the former convinced him to put down his book. David turned to his mom, who was lingering behind.

 

“Mom, can we please talk about this?” He asked.

Ruth looked hesitant and then peered her head around the corner. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting. You know Eudora doesn’t let anyone eat until we’re all seated.”

 

She walked out of the room, leaving David staring out after her.

* * *

 

When they arrived at the diner later that night, David settled into a booth a few tables away from his family, watching Emma talk with Tiana about the wedding. She seemed so natural with all of them, which was good. He had been afraid that they’d overwhelm her, but Emma could match James for his wit and Ruth clearly loved her. Everyone was still ignoring him, but he’d take it for the time being. His mother could be in the same room as him and that was an improvement.

 

“Odd man out?” David looked up and found Ruby standing there, her red leather jacket on and purse swung over her shoulder.

He chuckled a bit. “Yeah, they’re all still mad at me. Well, really only my mom is but they’re on her side and I can’t blame them.”

Ruby settled down next to him. “You were a kid when you made the choices you did.”

“Still, I had 15 years to tell them and I never did. I’d hate me to.” He paused for a minute and then looked over at her. “Why don’t  _you_  hate me?”

“We’re friends.”

“Come on, Rubes. You were always Mary Margaret’s friend more than you were mine. You two hung out all the time.”

“Yeah, well…” Ruby trailed off with a sigh. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one who made stupid choices when they were a teenager.”

“You? Stupid choices?”

Ruby smiled a bit. “You wanna know a secret? Something only Archie knows?”

David tilted his head. He didn’t think that Ruby and Mary Margaret had any secrets from each other. “Sure.

 

Ruby looked back at the counter where Granny was wiping up. She waited until she disappeared into the back and turned to her friend.

 

“You know when you guys were 15 and I was 16, how I left town for about a year?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I moved in with my mom in Boston. Granny and I were fighting all the time, my mom was doing a lot better and she said she could finally take care of me. Granny let me go, but said I could always come home.”

“And you did.”

“After doing something terrible.”

 

David could see the guilt in her eyes and felt concerned. Ruby was a wild child in their teens, but what could she have done that was so bad? He put a hand on her back and she looked up at him.

  
“I met Archie when I was there. He was 18 at the time and we were really happy. My mom was out a lot with her boyfriend and so, he came over all the time. And well…you know what happens when you’re young and alone.”

David frowned. “You got pregnant, didn’t you?”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah. I did.”

“Oh, Rubes.” He rubbed her back. “What happened to the baby?”

“I had him. Archie and I were going to do it at first, and we did. For 6 months, he was all ours. But things were hard. By that point, I was going to start my senior year and he was in college, my mom and his parents were no help. We just couldn’t do it. So…we gave him up.”

 

Ruby reached into her bag, pulling out her wallet. She flipped to a picture of her holding a baby wrapped in blue.

 

“He’s handsome,” David said, softly.

“We gave him to Archie’s mentor, he and his wife always wanted children but they weren’t able to have them. The thing was, we just signed our rights and walked away. We haven’t spoken to him since.”

“Why not?”

“I thought it’d be too hard, that I’d change my mind. Instead I’ve spent every day of the past 17 and a half years missing him, knowing I made a mistake.”

“Oh, Rubes…”

“I should’ve tried harder.”

“You were a kid; you did what was best for him.”

Ruby sniffled, wiping her red eyes. “Maybe, but it doesn’t change that I miss him.”

“Well, he’s 18 now, right? Maybe he’ll try to find you.”

“I doubt it. It’s not like you and Mary Margaret. You guys gave Emma up for adoption…”

“And that’s what you did too, just 6 months later.”

 

Ruby let out a shaky breath and he put an arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and they looked over to where his family was. None of them were even paying attention, Emma was teaching Ruth how to play a game on her smart phone.

 

“What was his name?” David asked. “Your son’s, I mean?”

“August. August Wayne.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...we'll have to get back to that later.


	7. Chapter 7

Mary Margaret was the weirdo that actually liked mornings. Ever since she was a little girl, she’d wake up early to get ready for the day. She was the type of person to lay out her clothes the night before and she didn’t take long to get ready, so it was just a personal preference. It worked in her favor when she got the job with Good Morning Storybrooke. Her broadcast started at 7 AM and she’d normally arrive a half hour early to get everything done.

 

With Emma, however, things had been a bit different. When she was with her, she found herself getting there closer to the start time than ever. She could never drive her to school, but wanted to make sure that she got on the bus in time or that David was picking her up. She was never late, she made sure of that. It didn’t mean that people weren’t starting to get annoyed, or rather than people, a person.

 

Helena Blumenthal was the station manager and up until she moved back, Mary Margaret had never really had much contact with her. In a small town like Storybrooke, everyone knew everyone, but outside seeing her at the diner they didn’t have much of a reason. Now, Mary Margaret had the displeasure of seeing her every day. It wasn’t that she thought Helena was bad at her job. In fact, she did a damn good job. The station ran smoothly because of her. She just wasn’t always the kindest to everyone else. Ratings came first in her mind. Mary Margaret could still remember the rant Helena went on when Herc dumped her.

 

“You couldn’t have just accepted the proposal?” She asked Mary Margaret an entire month after the break up. “Do you know what a wedding between two anchors would do for the station?”

 

Eventually, all Mary Margaret could do was ignore it. She’d change the subject or simply walk away. News anchoring was a man’s world and she understood why Helena had to a hard ass, but would it kill her to be nice to the fellow woman trying to make a living?

 

As Margaret touched up her face the morning after Emma’s diner with David’s family, Helena poked her head into the green room. At a small station like Storybrooke News, they didn’t have their own dressing rooms or anything like that. Newscasters got ready around the same crowded mirrors. It was a far cry from her time in Boston, but Mary Margaret didn’t miss it.

 

“You’re late.”

“No, I’m not. News doesn’t start for another 15 minutes.”

“You normally always got here a lot earlier.”

“As long as I make it in time for the news, does it matter?”

Helena folded her arms over her chest. “Do you have a new boyfriend? Is that’s what’s causing these late mornings?”

 

Mary Margaret did her best not to roll her eyes. After Herc, she had done all she could to keep her personal life a secret from Helena. It was clear that wasn’t possible anymore.

 

“It’s not a guy. I’m a mother now.”

“You didn’t look pregnant.”

“I was, 15 years ago.” She saw Helena’s confused face. “I got pregnant when I was 18 and gave the baby up for adoption. Recently, she tracked me down and told me she was in the system, so I started taking care of her.”

Helena stepped further in the room and shut the door. “How many other people know?”

“Excuse me?”

“How many people know?”

“Well, her father, my friends, certain members of my family…”

“Okay, we need to find a way to spin this in case the Gazette finds out. That damn Sidney Glass always has to have next scoop.” Helena pulled out her phone and started punching things into it. “Youthful indiscretion…”

“I don’t see why anyone would care.”

“This is a small town and you’re a prominent figure!” Helena’s head snapped up from her phone. “Were you not thinking about your career when this happened?”

“You mean when I was a freshman in college and experiencing contractions in between studying for my intro to communications class?” Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. “No, I was a bit preoccupied.”

“This affects more than just you, you know!”

“Look, I’m not ashamed of my daughter. I don’t want her story on blast, but if it gets out that I had a kid at 18, I don’t care.”

 

Before Helena could respond, Mary Margaret’s co-anchor, Jasmine Kar walked into the room.

 

“Mare, they want to run some lighting tests with us,” she said.

“Coming.” Mary Margaret tucked her makeup away before hanging her bag onto the hook. “Let’s have a good show.”

 

She followed her co-anchor out, not knowing that as she did, Helena was dialing a number on her own phone.

 

“Judah, it’s Helena…oh no, you’re not going to hang up the phone. You owe me one favor.” A small smile grew across her face. “You’re going to look into someone for me. Mary Margaret Blanchard’s daughter. I need to know if anyone has the potential to ruin my show.”

* * *

 

Mary Margaret always felt a twinge of sadness when she and Jasmine signed off from the news. She loved what she did and felt like as much work as they put into their segments, it was all for only a few hours of work.

 

“So, the Harvest festival is approaching,” Jasmine said once they had wrapped. “One of us should probably go down to show the set up. Helena was telling me that not too many people went last year and the mayor is worried that the town doesn’t care much about these events anymore.”

“I can do that, we’ll do a lot of promotion for it. You know, maybe people would care more about this stuff, if we didn’t have a new event so often.”

Jasmine laughed, shaking her head. “You’ve lived here longer than me. We both know that isn’t going to happen.”

“True, just…God. I love town spirit as much as the next person but do we really need a festival celebrating the colonization of America?”

“By this point, it’s just tradition.”

“Guest that’s what I’ll focus on.”

“You want to get some coffee and hammer out how we’re gonna handle the interview with the romance author?”

“Sounds good to me.”

 

One of the perks of working at the smaller station was the fact that Jasmine was so open to working with her. Back in Boston, she would’ve been lucky to get her co-anchor willing to spend time with her. Jasmine had been a bit hesitant of Mary Margaret at first, considering she was replacing her mentor, but they became fast friends.

 

After spending a couple of hours in the meeting room going over talking points and flipping through a copy of the book that the author had sent over. It wasn’t the most captivating thing, but they found a lot of good points. It wasn’t often that someone “famous” moved to town. They felt confident that it would go well as they exited the room, finally ready to head home.

 

As Mary Margaret was heading out to her car, Helena appeared in front of her. “Helena. Hey. Did you want to discuss today’s show?”

“No, you two actually did a decent job today.”

High praise coming from her. “Then what’s up?”

“I know you want to do right by your daughter,” Helena said, adjusting her purse over her shoulder. “You gave her up and she spent most of her life in the system. That can’t be easy on the conscious.”

Mary Margaret shifted uncomfortably. “Well…no, it’s not.”

“You’re a good person. You try hard and you truly care about others. When we did the story at the domestic violence shelter, I found out that you volunteer a lot of time there.”

“It’s just a very important topic to me.” She didn’t bother at all to add why. Helena knew enough about her life as it was, she wasn’t about to add more to that.

“Which is why I care about you. I want you to be safe, if anything happened to you, well, what would become of the show?”

 

Mary Margaret’s eyebrows furrowed. What the hell was Helena going on about?

 

“I know you want to trust your daughter and believe in her, but you don’t know everything.”

Mary Margaret held up a hand. “You don’t know anything about Emma.”

“Oh, I know more than you think.”

 

Helena dug through her bag, before pulling out a manila envelope. Mary Margaret hesitantly took it from her and began looking through it. She saw Emma’s name, but it didn’t look like anything she had seen before. That’s when she realized it was a police report.

 

“What the hell,” she mumbled.

“Looks like your daughter stabbed her foster father. He sustained minor injuries and she was arrested for assault. Spent three months in juvenile hall before she got her new social worker who fought to have her attend anger management instead.”

“I don’t…I don’t understand. Emma’s a good girl. She wouldn’t do anything like this.”

“How well do you really know her? You didn’t raise her, Mary Margaret.”

 

Helena squeezed her shoulder and walked away, leaving Mary Margaret standing in the cold parking lot. Her hands were trembling as she flipped through the pages. Seeing her daughter’s mug shot was shaking. Emma looked far younger than she had in that moment, with wide green eyes and her lips in a thin line. Mary Margaret studied her hands and realized she had something on them.

 

Blood.

 

Emma didn’t seem to have a violent bone in her body. Sure, she was sarcastic and glib, but she never tried to hurt her or anyone as far as she was concerned. Why would she do something like this?

 

The thoughts of what she knew haunted her as she drove back to her loft. She wanted to believe the best in Emma, there had to be a reason why she did this. A reason why she didn’t tell her about any of it. Looking through the report once she settled at her desk, she found the names of her foster parents: William and Kathleen Roman. According to the report, the cops had been dispatched to a home in Maine. Emma had lived in Maine before? Some more research showed that the family was only about an hour outside Storybrooke.

 

Checking the clock, Mary Margaret realized that Emma wouldn’t be home for a while. She had plans to study with Lily and Elsa after school anyway. It was time for her to get some answers.

* * *

 

Mary Margaret pulled up in front of a nice two story home in Brunswick. The outside was grey with white shingles. A beautiful garden was out front, two bikes that looked to fit teenagers were leaned against the garage. As Mary Margaret approached the doorstep, she saw a welcome mat that read “Home Is Where The Heart Is”.

 

Given the way Emma had described past foster homes, Mary Margaret had not been expecting this.

 

She knocked on the door, hoping that the car in the driveway meant someone was home. It only took a few minutes for a middle aged blonde woman to answer. She was nicely dressed, wearing a grey button down blouse and tan slacks, a small smile on her face.

 

“Can I help you?”

“My name is Mary Margaret Blanchard.” She extended her hand and the woman shook it. “Are you Kathleen Roman?”

“Yes, but everyone calls me Katie.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Um, I have reason to believe that my daughter used to live here. Emma Swan.”

Katie’s face grew a little pale. “She hasn’t lived here in 3 years.”

“I’m aware. I just…I had some questions.” Mary Margaret decided it was best to lie, not wanting to tip off where her daughter was now. “I gave her up for adoption and I recently found out she was in the system. I was trying to get more information and I was made aware that some things happened here. Before I find her, I want to know everything.”

 

Katie looked hesitant for a moment, before checking her watch.

 

“My boys will be home in an hour, so will Bill. You can’t stay very long.”

“Just a few minutes, that’s all I ask.”

 

The woman stepped aside and gestured for Mary Margaret to come in. She instructed her to wait in the living room and Mary Margaret did so, settling down on the comfortable navy blue couch. Looking around the room, she saw pictures of a happy family of four. Katie and Bill clearly had two sons, from the looks of the most recent picture, in their teens. There was a family photo from each year, excluding one. That would’ve been the year that Emma was in their family.

 

Katie entered a few moments later with two glasses of lemonade and a small box. She handed Mary Margaret the glass and settled down beside her.

  
“We met Emma at an adoption fair in Boston,” Katie explained. “We had been fostering for a few years but it was hard on the boys, they were pretty young at the time. Taking in a kid, only to have them reunited with their parents, we wanted more. So when we met Emma, she seemed like a perfect match. She was funny, sweet. We took her into our home and for a while, things were great.”

 

She opened the box and pulled out a picture. It was clearly the family one that was missing on the wall. They were all wearing similar outfits, Bill and the boys in white cardigans and black slacks. Emma and Katie were dressed in black dresses with white beanies. Mary Margaret stroked the cheek of her daughter’s picture, seeing just how happy she looked.

 

“The beanies were Emma’s touch. She was so in love with them.” Katie had a ghost of a smile on her face. “I always wanted a daughter. I love my boys, don’t get me wrong, there’s just something special about that.”

“And your sons got along well with her?”

“Oh, yes. Bill and I were aware we were batting out of order, but Emma was so great with them. She was so patient with Max’s ADHD, she and Zack would run outside for hours.”

 

Mary Margaret nodded, looking through all of the pictures. She tried not to get jealous as she saw a bunch of Katie and Emma. Towards the bottom of the box was even a birthday card to Katie from Emma, signed “Love, Emma”. Emma hadn’t even said those three words to her. She understood why, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

 

“If things were so great, what happened?” Mary Margaret asked.

Any trace of happiness that was on Katie’s face disappeared with that question. “After about six months, I noticed there was a bit of tension between Bill and Emma. She didn’t want to be around him, she would act hostile when he came in a room. They started fighting a lot, but I assumed it was just teenage angst.”

“But it wasn’t.”

“No.” Katie grew even paler as she set the box down on the table, clearly reliving the events in her head. “I had run out to the store and when I came home, Max was screaming. Zack was on the phone with 9-1-1, but I couldn’t make out either of them. I went into the kitchen and found Bill sitting in a chair, bleeding from the stomach. Emma was standing nearby, holding a knife.”

Mary Margaret cringed, hearing the words of the police report confirmed. “Did she say why?”

“She gave the judge some story, but it didn’t matter. She hurt my husband. She tried to kill him. Bill.” Katie shook her head, a disgusted look on her face. “We brought her into our home, we treated her like one of us. Gave her more than she ever had, we were so close to adopting her for crying out loud. And this was how she repaid us.”

 

Mary Margaret looked down at the picture at the top of the pile. Bill had an arm around Emma, both smiling at one another from ear to ear. She clearly cared a lot for him. How could her daughter have snapped and done such a thing.

 

“Bill was okay, thank God. Emma served some time, but not long enough if you ask me.”

“She was just a kid,” Mary Margaret whispered.

“A kid who was aware of what she was doing. You know because of the stuff Emma said in court, they took away our foster license? We can never adopt again or give back to the community. She nearly ruined our lives. The boys are scarred from what they saw.”

 

Katie finally met Mary Margaret’s eye, grabbing hold of her hand.

 

“I know you want to find your daughter, but you’re better off without her in your life.”

* * *

 

Emma walked into Mary Margaret’s loft with Lily, laughing over a joke the latter had said on the way up. She had never had a best friend before, but she honestly was starting to consider Lily one. Lily made her laugh, she didn’t take the school seriously and yet still got amazing grades. Elsa didn’t have the best home life and Lily made sure that she could sleep over as much as Mal would allow. Emma had never met anyone like her and she was thoroughly intrigued.

 

She found Mary Margaret sitting on the couch, staring at something in her hands. “Hey Mary Margaret.” Her mom looked up at her. “I was wondering if Lily could stay for dinner?”

“Um, actually we need to talk,” Mary Margaret said. It was only then that Emma saw the tears in her eyes. Lily must have noticed it too, because she spoke up without missing a beat.

“Sounds like trouble. Call me later.”

 

She squeezed Emma’s arm and exited the loft. Emma settled down on the couch near Mary Margaret. Her mom got up and placed the picture in front of her. Emma froze when she realized it was one of her and the Romans on Halloween. They had all dressed up as bees after seeing The Bee Movie. Katie had her arms wrapped around her, beaming proud. Emma couldn’t even bring herself to look at Bill and the boys making funny faces.

 

“Where did you get this?” She whispered, looking back up at Mary Margaret.

“I met with Katie Roman today. She gave me this.”

“Why…why would you do that?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you have a juvie record for simple assault?”

“I…it’s complicated. How did you even find out?”

“That doesn’t matter, Emma!” Mary Margaret’s voice reached a decibel that Emma hadn’t heard before and it almost scared her. “I saw pictures of you and that family. You were happy! You were good! Katie told me how close you two had gotten, they were going to adopt you.”

“Do you wish that they had?!?”

“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it! I want to know why? What would bring you to do such a thing to someone that clearly loved you.”

“Love?” Emma snorted. “I can tell you one thing, Bill did _not_ love me.”

“Emma…”

“You think you know my life, why? Because you saw a few pictures? Talked to Katie, who only ever accepted one side of the story?”

 

Emma jumped up, shaking her head. She felt her body trembling, she had forced these memories out of her head. They were apart of her past and they weren’t supposed to hurt her future. Astrid had even told her that she was working to get the record expunged and that they had a good chance, considering the evidence that had been brought to life during the retrial.

 

“You went and talked to Katie about it, instead of just asking me.”

“Well, you didn’t even bother to tell me,” Mary Margaret argued, though it was clear that she was starting to feel guilty.

“For this reason! I knew you wouldn’t believe me!”

“I don’t even know your side! Just tell me what happened!”

“I only tell that story to people I trust. You no longer fall into that category.”

 

Emma stormed back to the door, grabbing her jacket off the hook.

 

“Emma!” Mary Margaret called after her. “Where are you going?”

“Lily’s. I’m sure you’ve called David by now and told him all about his wayward little fuck up.”

 

The door slammed shut and Mary Margaret grabbed hold of her phone, dialing a number.

 

“Hello?” David picked up on the third ring.

“I messed up with Emma. I need your help.”

“What happened?”

“I tracked down one of her old foster parents when I got her record and I just…please, David. I really need your help here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get Emma's perspective in the next chapter, I promise!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Mentions of several forms of abuse in this chapter.

**3 Years Ago**

 

Emma stood in the kitchen, slicing the apples, while Max was picking the movie and Zack was on the phone with a friend. Katie had stepped out and would be back with the popcorn in a bit. It was quiet, for once. She didn’t necessarily like that, it was leaving her alone with her thoughts. Her social worker had told her that Katie and Bill had plans to adopt her. That was the last thing she wanted, but she knew that if she told the truth, it’d be another mark on her record. Emma learned a long time ago that telling about abuse reflected more on the foster child, than it did the foster parent. No one wanted to take in a girl that would squeal on them for their “punishments”.

 

Besides, Katie was really great. She was the closest thing that Emma had to a mom in a long time. She did her hair and took her on little day trips. She had helped her get caught up in school and did all she could to make sure that she succeeded. Even Bill wasn’t so bad when he wasn’t physically touching Emma. He’d do anything she asked. To most, it looked like he was wrapped around her finger.

 

No one knew that six weeks prior, he had climbed into her bed for the first time. She had one foster father that had been a bit handsy before, but it had mostly been lingering hugs or touching her cheek, which made her feel uncomfortable. Bill, on the other hand, said he wanted to take care of Emma. She was becoming a woman, she needed to know what men looked for.

 

A chill ran down her spine. She had tried to put up a fight, but he had told her that no one would believe her. So, it kept happening. She thought if she picked fights in front of Katie, that it’d stop, but it never did. Instead, it seemed to only get worse and he was a lot rougher.

 

Bill’s voice caused her to jump. “A nice healthy snack for the movie, eh?”

Emma stiffened a little, grabbing the second apple to chop. “Katie wanted it, since there’s going to be popcorn.”

He was walking closer, she could tell by his footsteps. “You know, you really should start calling us Mom and Dad. Betsy says that the adoption shouldn’t take too long to formalize.”

 

His hands wrapped around her waist and Emma swallowed, hard, her hand shaking.

  
“The boys are in the other room,” she whispered, meekly.

“There’s never a wrong time for a lesson.” His cold hand started playing with the strings on her sweatpants. “Come on, Em. We all know you like it.”

“Stop it,” she said, unsure of where the firmness in the voice was coming. Maybe it was because she knew that he couldn’t hit her with the boys so close, but she was finally finding her voice. “I want you to leave me alone.”

“Oh, is that right?” He grabbed hold of her hair and put a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t scream out in pain. “So, you need to be reminded of who the adult around here is, do you?”

 

He turned her around by her hair and the next few moments were all a blur for Emma. She thrusted the knife forward and due to their height difference, it ended up in his stomach. He toppled backwards and Emma’s eyes widened, realizing what she had just done. He looked at her with wide eyes of his own, clearly unsure of what to say or do. He collapsed into a chair and Emma ran towards him, pulling the knife out.

 

Two gasps came from the kitchen and she spun around to find her foster brothers standing there. Max started screaming and bolted from the room. Zack stared at Emma, looking at her as if he had seen a ghost.

 

“What did you do?” He asked.

“I…I didn’t…”

“Call 9-1-1!” Bill barked at his son. “Make sure they know that Emma did it!”

 

Emma wanted to argue, but she couldn’t. She had stabbed him. It all happened so fast, but she had indeed stabbed him. What if he died? Oh my God, forget finding a forever family, she was never going to see the light of day again.

 

Zack disappeared from the room and Max’s screams could still be heard from the den. Emma just stood there, awestruck. Eventually, the front door opened and shut. Bill was doubled over in pain, the blood seeping through his grey polo. Katie walked in and looked between the two of them. Emma realized the knife was still in her hand and that blood was on her fingers.

 

Bill’s blood.

 

“Katie,” she whispered.

 

But Katie wouldn’t look at her. She grabbed paper towels and began applying pressure to the wound. Bill filled her in on the situation, completing changing the story. It would be the same one he’d tell the police and the judge. He had come in the kitchen and asked Emma if she needed help with snacks. She flipped out on him and they got into a verbal altercation. When he grounded her, she stabbed him.

 

Emma found herself unable to say a thing. She had dropped the knife, but stood in shock. It was as if she were watching a movie, everything was happening to her, rather than her doing anything about it. Another few minutes later, the sounds of sirens replaced Max’s screams. She heard footsteps and the wheeling of something. The paramedics assessed Bill before whisking him away. Katie chased after them, leaving Emma alone.

 

That didn’t last very long. Before she could blink, an officer was in the room. “Emma Swan?” She asked.

Emma slowly nodded. “Yes.”

“Your foster brother told us that it was you that stabbed your foster father.”

“I…I…”

The officer looked at her blood stained hands and the matching knife nearby. “I’m going to advise that you wait for a court appointed attorney to show up. Miss Swan, please turn around.”

 

The next few weeks were a total blur for Emma. She could barely remember being escorted to the squad car with all the neighbors watching. There was something vague about being brought to an interrogation room and another cop coming in. At one point, she asked about the attorney the first officer had promised her, but that was ignored. Eventually, she was signing a piece of paper that she didn’t quite understand. She had explained what she had done and why, but no one seemed to care about the latter. She was processed and brought to juvenile hall.

 

It was cold, loud. There was a strip search that she did her best to block out. The food tasted disgusting and the girls made fun of her for being the youngest. A lot of it wouldn’t be what she’d remember for years to come. No, that was the trial. She sat before a judge and explained her side of the story. The true side. Bill and Kate stood, telling a bunch of lies. They said she was wild, constantly sneaking out and breaking curfew. Kate added that she had gotten physical with them in the past and they knew it was a matter of time.

 

Just as Bill had once threatened, no one believed her.

 

Emma was sentenced to 2 years in juvenile hall. She took the advice of her counselor and kept her head down. She didn’t talk to anyone unless absolutely necessary. She did her chores and went to her group therapy. The other girls teased her for being a kiss ass, but she avoided them, even if it got her beaten. It was almost as if she was desentized to all of it. She was going to serve her time and get out of it.

 

One day as she walked the yard during the rec period, she heard the frantic sound of someone from behind her. She paused and found a frizzy haired brunette racing behind her, juggling a bunch of files.

 

“Yes?” She asked.

“You’re Emma Swan, right?”

Emma gestured to her badge. “Yeah.”

“Astrid Rosa,” she stuck out her hand, nearly dropping her files in the process.

Emma hesitantly shook hands with her. “Are you my new counselor?”

“No, your new social worker. Your file came across my desk this morning and I was looking things over. I think we can get you out of here.”

“I still have another year and a half.”

“You’re supposed to, but it seems like they messed up when they were interviewing you. I read the transcripts of your interrogation and you ask for an attorney several times, but the officer dodged it.”

Emma shrugged. “So?”

“So, that’s illegal, Emma. You had every right to have legal counsel when you spoke to them. You’re also a minor, you cannot sign anything without an adult present, which I see they also had you do.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“All of this means that your case will be thrown out by a judge. The justice system unfortunately isn’t always perfect, but it does mean that you’re going to be out of here. I’m going to be lining up a new foster home for you within the coming weeks.”

 

Emma stared at this woman as if she were her fairy godmother. Before, Betsy had made it seem like she’d transition from juvie to a high security group home. Here, Astrid was promising her a new foster home, a way out of this place. It took all she had not to throw her arms around her.

 

**Present Day**

 

Astrid was the first social worker that Emma could see actually try to fight for her. She knew others in the past had been overworked and done their best, but Betsy had barely done her due diligence when it came to finding her good homes. Astrid listened to Emma, she believed in her. She never lied to Emma and made sure she was aware that with her record, it’d be a challenge, but she always did her best. She even got Emma into counselling for what had been done to her. It wasn’t a magical fix, but it was a start to trying to forget everything.

 

Then Mary Margaret just had to find out about her past.

 

Emma wasn’t surprised that Katie had lied to Mary Margaret. If she had lied in front of a judge, why wouldn’t she before Emma’s mother? It wasn’t that, it was the fact that Mary Margaret had believed all of it without talking to her first. How had they even found out about her past? Astrid had promised to leave that out when she spoke to them.

 

She knew that she could go to Lily or Elsa’s, but then she’d have to explain what happened and she didn’t want to talk about it. There was no doubt that Mary Margaret had told David, so he was out. In Boston, if Emma wanted to run away, it was easy. There were so many places to hide out. She knew the city very well.

 

Storybrooke was smaller and yet, she knew nothing about it.

* * *

 

David pulled up in front of Mary Margaret’s apartment building, texting her that he was there. She raced out of the door just moments later, almost as if she had been waiting in the lobby. Mary Margaret slid into the passenger seat, practically slamming the door behind her.

 

“She said she was going to Lily’s, so I called Mal Page, but she said she wasn’t there,” Mary Margaret explained, her voice sounding frantic. “I don’t know where else she would go.”

“I told Killian to text me if she shows up at my place. Maybe we should check my moms’?”

“That’d be a good idea.” Mary Margaret ran her fingers through her hair as David pulled away. “God, I was so fucking stupid.”

“Deep breaths. Just explain to me what happened a little better. You found out she has a record?”

“She spent 6 months in juvie for simple assault.”

David arched an eyebrow. That didn’t sound like Emma at all, but then again, he didn’t know her very well. “That doesn’t make much sense. Emma doesn’t seem violent.”

“I know. So I went to the victim’s house…”

“You did what?!?”

“I just needed answers. The woman there says that she and her husband fostered Emma for 6 months. One night, Emma stabbed the husband.”

“Did you try to talk to Emma about it?”

“Yes, but I didn’t go about it the right way. I was just so upset about her not coming to us about it and I flipped out a little.”

“And you didn’t think to call me about this?”

Mary Margaret looked over at him, her mouth dropping a bit. “David…”

“I’m her parent too, Mary Margaret. You don’t think I’d want to review the files and try to look into things? I’m a lawyer, I have more access to this stuff than you do,” he felt his body tensing up a bit. “I know you planned on being a single mom when you were pregnant, but you’re not. You can’t just find this stuff out and only call me when the shit hits the fan.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to do that. My boss did a background check on her and I just went into Mama Bear mode, I didn’t even think to call you.” She cleared her throat, raising her voice a bit. “I should’ve though, I am so sorry.”

 

An apology sounded weird coming from Mary Margaret. Heaven knew that David owed her enough of those for how he handled her pregnancy. She hadn’t done anything to hurt him. This was probably the first time he could think of her really screwing up. Sure, that probably wasn’t true, but it was a new side to her. A new, human side.

 

“I understand,” he said, softening a bit. “I don’t know how I would’ve handled the whole thing either.”

“You seem to have better ideas than I do.” She was quiet for a minute. “The foster family seemed to be really close with Emma. She wrote them cards saying she loved them, there were so many family photos.”

“Those can be deceiving.” He remembered his own forced ones back before his father died. Robert screaming at them until they got the exact right pose in the Sears photo studio.

“True.” From the look on her face, Mary Margaret was thinking about her own past.

“Look, we don’t know where Emma went, but there’s not exactly a lot of trouble she could get into right now. How about I call her and tell her to meet us at my office? While we wait, I’ll look into this some more.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I guess I’m still not used to this responsible David Nolan.”

 

David winced, but didn’t say anything in response. A part of him knew he deserved that.

 

A few minutes later, he pulled up in front of Spencer Law. He took his phone out and dialed Emma’s number. David wasn’t at all surprised when he got her voicemail after just two rings.

 

“Emma, it’s David. Look, I know you’re upset right now, but you need to know that we’re not mad at you. We love you so much and we just want to talk it out. Please call us back and I’ll come get you or you can come to me. I’m at my office, Spencer Law. On the corner of Mansel and Redwood. Please, just call me back.”

 

He hung up and lead Mary Margaret up the stairs to his office. Luckily, his uncle was away on business and there was no chance of running into him. He still hadn’t quite explained the Emma situation to him. Not because he was ashamed, but because he tried to tell Albert as little as possible about his personal life. Robert had been an abusive drunk, Albert was a controlling functional alcoholic. David longed for the day he could switch to a new firm, but at the moment, it was the job that was going to give him the most money. Considering he had a teenager to think of, there was no way he could quit then.

 

David opened the door to his office and Mary Margaret followed him inside, pulling a chair besides his own so they could both look at the computer. She spotted a picture of Emma on the desk and softly smiled.

 

“I already have one in my dressing room, too,” she said.

“It just seems like the parent thing to do,” David replied as he logged in.

 

He went through his different resources and soon was able to obtain the transcripts from Emma’s trial. He read through Bill and Katie’s statements first, before moving onto Emma’s. The story she laid out made both his stomach turn and his muscles tighten. He didn’t even notice Mary Margaret’s reaction, he was just so sick to his stomach at the thought of what Bill had done to his little girl.

 

“That man doesn’t deserve to be alive, let alone walking free,” he growled.

 

A part of him wanted to ask Mary Margaret for the address and track this SOB down, but the lawyer in him told him that it wasn’t going to help Emma. He knew that even if Emma had been found guilty, that at the very least, Bill wouldn’t be permitted to foster anymore. At the very least, he wouldn’t be able to hurt another foster child. It was just a shame that he had his biological children in his custody. David didn’t know if he abused them too, but if Katie was willing to lie for him over Emma, there was a chance that she’d never stand up for her own children. He also knew that she was potentially a victim of domestic violence herself.

 

How could he not have stuck by Mary Margaret’s side? Then Emma never would’ve ended up in such a situation. Rationally, he knew that it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t been the one to hurt her and most foster parents were good people. Bill should’ve known better. Even so, as her father, David felt the urge to protect her and he had ultimately failed.

 

He looked down at Mary Margaret and saw the tears that were streaming down her face, her hand was clapped over her mouth. David touched her arm and she pulled away, jumping up. She ran to the corner of the room, hyperventilating. It took a minute for him to realize that she was having a panic attack. James had them occasionally after the accident. His therapist had taught David and Ruth how to help him through them. David knew that every person was different, but it was worth a shot.

 

David didn’t touch her, instead, he stood next to her. “Mary Margaret, I need you to start doing jumping jacks.” She looked up at him as if he were on drugs. “I know it sounds crazy, just do it.” Her hyperventilating continued and he shook his head. “Just trust me.”

 

Eventually, Mary Margaret started doing them. She looked so confused in the beginning, then slowly but surely her breathing became even again. She lowered herself down the wall and he crouched in front of her.

 

“How did you learn that?” She asked, tears still falling.

“My mom and I learned to help my brother. He has PTSD from an accident.” David waved that off, this wasn’t about James. “Clearly there’s something going on with you.”

“I just found out my daughter was assaulted.”

“So did I, and it didn’t make me have a panic attack. There’s more going on there, Mare.”

“I didn’t realize you became a therapist.”

“No, but I’m a lawyer. It’s my job to read people.”

Mary Margaret tipped her head back. “I put her with a family that wasn’t supposed to hurt her. They were good people. No record. They weren’t going to hurt her.”

“And they didn’t. You couldn’t predict what they’d do, nor that she’d end up with that asshole.”

“She wasn’t supposed to end up like me!”

 

David’s eyes widened. Was she saying…no. Leopold was an asshole and he had hurt Mary Margaret when she got pregnant, but he just assumed it was in the heat of the moment. She hadn’t…no…

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked, softly.

Mary Margaret’s lips trembled. “My dad would beat me and Regina. It was really, really bad. When she left, he got mad, because I had helped her. He told me…he told me that I had to make up for that…” She covered her face with her hands.

 

David’s muscles hadn’t untensed from when he read about Emma, but now they felt as though they were going to pop out of his sockets. He sunk completely to the floor and he pulled her into his arms. She collapsed, allowing herself to sob into his shoulder. He cradled the back of her head, kissing the top of her head.

  
“You didn’t deserve that, Mary Margaret,” he whispered. “You definitely didn’t.”

 

She didn’t respond, she just clung to him. David rest his chin atop her dark pixie cut. As his glassy eyes looked out to his office, he saw Emma standing there. Her backpack was dropped to the ground by her feet and she looked as shocked as he felt.

 

This probably wasn’t how Mary Margaret had expected Emma to find out about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions for me or the characters? Send them into my Tumblr: findingtallahassee or my CuriousCat: justanoutlawfic.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma didn’t move as she watched David comfort Mary Margaret. She had almost not shown up to the office to begin with, but with him calling she knew that he obviously wasn’t upset with her. She had almost gone to Lily’s, but decided halfway through that she didn’t want Mary Margaret to be able to find her. She wandered around, not sure where she could go. Back in Boston, there were plenty of places. Storybrooke was so small, it’d be easy to find her. She might as well go to David’s office.

 

A part of her wished she hadn’t. She wasn’t good when people got upset, she wasn’t very great when it came to emotions period. She wasn’t sure how to feel when it came to Mary Margaret going through what she had. A part of her wanted to track her biological grandfather down, another part of her continued to remain frozen in place.

 

Luckily, she didn’t have much time to think. David gestured for her to stay put and for some reason, she felt obligated to listen. She watched as he continued to comfort Mary Margaret through her breakdown. Eventually, Mary Margaret pulled away and wiped her face, clearly trying to calm down. Her eyes drifted to the doorway and she saw Emma standing there. David helped her up and he walked over to Emma, squeezing her shoulder.

 

“We’re not mad at you,” he said.

“David…”

“I am just…I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.”

Emma saw the look in his eyes, he seemed so heartbroken. No one had ever gotten that upset on her account. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

“No, it’s not.”

“Well…you’re right. I just…I don’t know what else to say.”

“I know you’ve been through a lot and if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

Emma nodded, forcing a small smile on her face. “Yeah. Thanks, David.”

“Anytime.” He looked back at Mary Margaret, before focusing on Emma again. “I don’t want to leave you right now, but I think that you and your mom need to talk.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I’m gonna go grab us all something to eat from the cafeteria.”

 

David shut the door behind him and Emma walked further into the office. Mary Margaret had a look on her face that Emma had only seen in the mirror before. It was one of heartbreak and overall feeling like falling apart. She settled into one of the chairs in front of David’s desk and Mary Margaret sat beside her.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t come talk to you first,” Mary Margaret said, speaking first. “I was just so surprised and I didn’t understand why you didn’t tell me…not until now.”

“You could’ve come to me.”

“I know, I know. It’s just…”

“You don’t trust me.”

Mary Margaret bit her lip. “I wouldn’t say that. You haven’t done anything to make me not trust you, it’s just that we barely know each other.”

“I get that.” Emma let out a deep breath. “Astrid’s working really hard to get this stripped from my record and expunged all together, I just hate talking about it.”

“Well that, I definitely understand.”

“Your dad…”

Mary Margaret nodded. “Not many people know. Regina was the only one until today.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“And I’m sorry that it happened to you.” Mary Margaret took her hand. “I never wanted this for you. I did my research, I found you the best family that I possibly could.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I swore I would never let a child go through what I did…”

“Mary Margaret.” Finally, her biological mother looked her in the eyes. “There was nothing that you could’ve done. Even if the Swans had raised me, there was no preventing it. The only person that could was Bill.”

Mary Margaret chuckled, in spite of the fresh tears that were falling down her face. “You really are so mature.” She moved her hand from within Emma’s and touched her cheek. “You know, Ruby’s fiancé is a psychologist. I know it can be hard to talk about, but he can help you.”

“I had some counseling after I got with Astrid, but I only got so many sessions with my insurance through foster care.”

“Well, something tells me that David has a lot better coverage.”

Emma smiled a bit, this time it was genuine. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. Maybe you could go too.” Mary Margaret paused, clearly unsure. “The few sessions I had really helped, maybe it could help you.”

“I’ll think about it, alright?”

Emma nodded. “Of course.”

 

Mary Margaret sighed, rubbing her own face to get rid of the tears. It was now red and her mascara had run, but Emma wasn’t about to tell her that. It was the first time she looked imperfect and maybe it was weird, but she liked it.

 

There was a knock on the door, causing both of them to look up. David stood there, balancing two trays. Mary Margaret hopped up to help him, grabbing the second one. The two distributed the food and Emma watched them closely. This was the first she had really seen them get along for more than a few seconds. They were smiling at one another and David seemed to be sitting as close to Mary Margaret as possible. They clearly weren’t as over each other as they thought they were.

* * *

 

Over the next few weeks, Emma and Mary Margaret both started seeing Archie. Mary Margaret didn’t hear much about Emma’s sessions, but they were clearly helping her more than she expected. As for Mary Margaret herself, it was weird to tell her story to Archie, but he was giving her healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with the nightmares.

 

When she told her former step-mother, Regina was really proud of her and admitted that she had seen Archie for a bit after Daniel died. It had caused her to have a breakdown and she got help for everything, from losing the love of her life to the first marriage that she had been thrust into, and the abuse she had suffered. Regina said that if not for therapy, she wasn’t sure if she would’ve been able to open her heart to Robin. Mary Margaret wasn’t sure if she’d ever let her heart open like that, she had once and it had only given her nothing but pain.

 

As Thanksgiving came and went, Emma seemed to be getting a bit more comfortable around both Mary Margaret and David. She definitely wasn’t close to calling them mom and dad, but she had stopped referring to them as her biological parents. She was opening up a bit more, sharing bits of her childhood that she hadn’t previously. It wasn’t ever any of the bad, but Mary Margaret enjoyed knowing that Emma’s favorite T.V show had been Arthur and that when she was 8, she had been Peter Pan for Halloween.

 

One night, the two of them were headed to Granny’s for dinner. It was getting colder, the Maine air blowing on both of them. Emma clung her coat tighter to her body and adjusted her beanie. Mary Margaret linked her arm through her daughter’s, and Emma didn’t pull away, instead smiling up at her.

 

Before they could walk inside the diner, there was an even bigger gust of wind and a sound of a motorcycle behind them. Emma turned around first, a huge smile forming on her face as the person removed their helmet.

 

“August!”

August grinned, parking officially and climbing off, giving her a hug. “Hey, Em.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I sort of got a job in town.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “You’re a mechanic. I didn’t think that kind of work had job transfers.”

August rolled his eyes. “The shop I was working at went under. I started looking for other jobs and found one here in town. I figured why not.”

 

Mary Margaret could see how happy this news made Emma. She and August talked on the phone as often as possible, texting and e-mailing as well. Still, she knew it was hard for the two to be so far apart. They were the closest each other had to siblings.

 

“Do you have a place to stay?” Mary Margaret asked.

August nodded. “I’m actually staying in your building, first floor.”

Emma’s eyes brightened at that news. “We’re going to be neighbors?” When August nodded, she hugged him tightly once again, making him laugh.

Mary Margaret smiled. “Well, this calls for a celebration. You want to join us for dinner, August?”

“I don’t want to intrude,”

“Of course you’re not, come on. You can tell us all about your travels on that death trap.”

Emma rolled her eyes as they walked inside. “I’m guessing that means you’re not going to let me on it?”

“We’ll talk about it with David.”

“Great, that’s a definite no.”

 

Mary Margaret smiled, knowing she was probably right. The diner wasn’t too busy, which meant they were able to pick their table. Mary Margaret settled on their usual one in Ruby’s section. Emma slid in next to August, showing him the menu and telling him all her favorites. It warmed Mary Margaret’s heart to see that in just over a month, she clearly considered this one of her favorite places.

 

Ruby walked over to the table, a smile on her face. “Hey guys.” She noticed August sitting beside Emma and raised an eyebrow. “Boyfriend?”

Emma made a face. “Ugh, gross.”

August pretended to look offended. “Gee thanks, Em, glad to know I’m out of your league.” He chuckled and held out his hand to Ruby. “August. August Booth. I was Emma’s foster brother.”

 

Ruby’s face grew pale as she slowly shook hands with August. He and Emma didn’t notice it, but Mary Margaret saw that her friend was looking like he had just seen a ghost. Ruby shook it off, though she clearly wasn’t her usual self as she took drink orders. Before Mary Margaret could ask what was wrong, Ruby made a beeline to the back. Mary Margaret excused herself, not that Emma or August could hear her over exchanging inside jokes and talking about an old foster parent.

 

Mary Margaret made her way to the back of the diner, hiding behind a wall as she listened to Ruby on the phone, clearly sounding upset.

 

“I’m telling you, it’s him!” She let out an irritated sigh. “I know it could be a popular name, but I know it…listen, Archie, just come down here and see for yourself!” There was a pause. “Thank you.”

 

Ruby hung up the phone and leaned against the wall, burying her head in her hands. It took Mary Margaret a minute to realize that her best friend was crying. She walked closer to her, putting a hand on her arm. Ruby jolted, her head snapping up.

 

“Mary Margaret…I…I’m gonna get your drinks.”

“That’s the least of my concerns,” Mary Margaret said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ruby sniffled. “I’m fine.”

“Ruby.” Mary Margaret gave her a look.

Ruby sighed, running her fingers through her long, dark hair. “There’s something I never told you, I thought you might hate me.”

“There’s nothing you could do to make me hate you, you’re my best friend.”

Ruby sniffled again. “Remember when I lived in Boston? With my mom?”

“Yeah, it’s where you met Archie.”

“Exactly, well…I got pregnant…and we tried, we really did.”

Mary Margaret frowned. This was Ruby’s big secret? She became a mom at 16? Did she really think she would judge, given her own situation? “Okay.”

“But it was just too much. Archie had a mentor at the time, Marco. We gave the baby to him and I moved back to Storybrooke.”

“I’m still lost at to what is making you so upset.” Mary Margaret put a hand each on Ruby’s arms. “Tell me, Rubes.”

“The baby’s name was August,” she whispered. “And his adoptive last name would’ve been Booth.”

Mary Margaret’s eyes widened and she glanced back at the table, where Emma and August were sat before looking back at Ruby. “You mean…”

“How much do you know about him?”

 

Mary Margaret paused, trying to gather all of the information that David had told her after he confronted August back when Emma first came to town.

 

“They were foster siblings, August was in the first home Emma was in after her adoption fell through. I guess it was his first foster home too. His adoptive father died…” Mary Margaret stopped, swallowing a bit. “And from what I remember David telling me, he talked about his biological parents abandoning him with an older man.”

 

Ruby’s head dropped back to her hands and she let out a sob. Mary Margaret pulled her into her arms, rubbing her back soothingly. She had been in Ruby’s position over a month ago, but at least Emma knew who she was. August sat there, no idea that the woman who gave him up was in the very same building.

* * *

 

David sat in his home office, trying to do some research for this case. He had made the mistake of putting it off the night before when Alice came over with her girlfriend. Emma had been with him as well and he wanted to make the most of the situation, trying to avoid an incident like last time. Luckily, Emma and Alice had gotten along and there was no outright jealousy there. The night ended with hugs, not picture frames breaking. It also meant that he would most likely be pulling an all nightery with this case.

 

“Dave.” David looked up and found Killian standing in the doorway. “Your mom’s in the living room.”

 

For a split second, David almost told him to cut the bull. His mom hadn’t spoken to him on her own accord since she found out about him keeping Emma a secret. She saw him, but that was mainly so she could see her granddaughter. The rest of his siblings and step-mom would talk to him, but Ruth was clearly still hurt. David didn’t blame her, but it had lead to some awkward moments. Since Emma had spent Thanksgiving with Mary Margaret, Regina and the rest of their family, he had opted out of going to his mom’s. He spent the day with Killian and Alice, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness. James said that it had been the wrong move, but for once he wasn’t the black sheep of the family, what did he know? David loved his mom, but was going to give her space. There was only so much rejection he could take.

 

However, Killian looked pretty sincere. David shut his laptop and walked into the living room. Low and behold, his mother was there. David cleared his throat and she looked up from the picture of Emma that he had hung up a week prior.

 

“Mom,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

Ruth stepped forward. “You didn’t come to Thanksgiving.”

“I didn’t think you’d want me there.”

“That’s ridiculous, David Robert.” He cringed at the use of his middle name, he hated that he was named after his father. “Of course I wanted you there.”

“Well, you haven’t been acting like it.”

“I’ve been upset with you.”

“I understand. I just didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness.”

Ruth sighed, gnawing on her bottom lip. “I love being a grandmother, you know? I have always loved Gideon, even if he’s not my blood.”

“I know that.”

“I would’ve been so supportive of Mary Margaret and Emma.”

“I know.”

Ruth tilted her head. “I thought you didn’t want to disappoint me.”

“That was also true, but I also knew you. You loved babies, more importantly, you loved family. It’s so important to you. I knew you’d insist on helping Mary Margaret with the baby, even though there wasn’t much you could do.”

“I would’ve watched the baby so the two of you could go to school and work.”

“At the time…I didn’t want that.”

“That’s not how I raised you.”

“I know!” David watched as her eyes grew big at his explosion. He ran his hand over his face. “My thoughts were the exact opposite of how you raised both me and James. I was being a selfish, coward. I was too scared to own up to my child and be the father they deserved. I couldn’t admit that to you, not with how perfect you thought I was.”

“David…”

“I heard it my entire life, Mom. You thought I was this perfect kid who could do no wrong. And a part of me got it, because of all the trouble James got in. Still, though. You went on and on about how I was the good kid. I never gave you any trouble. You were so damn proud of me and the thought of you hating me…” He trailed off, willing himself not to cry. “I couldn’t live with that.”

Ruth stepped closer to him, reaching up to touch his face. He hated that she could make him feel things he hated. “I never would’ve hated you, David. I still don’t hate you. You’re my son, I love you so much.” David nodded, feeling a tear fall down his face. “I know I put a lot on you, but I also know that you’re human. You made a mistake, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. You’re not your father.”

 

David let out a shaky breath and Ruth pulled him into her arms. He hugged her tight, allowing a few more tears to fall.

 

“I wanted to tell you,” he whispered. “When I was older, when I realized the mistake I made. I just didn’t know how.”

“I understand.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m really sorry.”

“I know, Davey. I know.” She pulled away, tilting up his chin. “And I forgive you. The question is, have you forgiven yourself?”

 

David looked down into her kind eyes, biting down on his lip. He wasn’t sure if he had the answer to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions for me or the characters? Send them into my Tumblr: findingtallahassee or my CuriousCat: justanoutlawfic.


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